α. 1900s– rabbit ear.
β. 1900s– rabbit ears.
γ. 1900s– rabbit's ears, 1900s– rabbits' ears, 1900s– rabbits ears Brit. 
/ˈrabɪts ˌɪəz/, U.S. /ˈræbəts ˌɪ(ə)rz/.
rabbit earsn.
/ˈrabɪt ˌɪəz/, U.S. /ˈræbət ˌɪ(ə)rz/ 1. Any of several plants with petals, leaves, or other features resembling the ears of a rabbit; (a) Canadian hare's-ear mustard, Conringia orientalis (family Brassicaceae), a European weed that is widespread in North America; (b) Australian an Australian orchid, Thelymitra antennifera; (c) = lamb's ears n. at lamb n.1 Additions (rare).
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > labiate plant or plants > [noun] > stachys or hedge nettle
strait horehound1548
clown's all-heal1597
hedge-nettle1678
stachys1682
swine's arnit1735
clown's wound-wort1825
mouse-ear1882
saviour's blanket1882
rabbit ears1928
1906 G. H. Clark & J. Fletcher Weeds of Canada 20 Hare's-ear Mustard, Conringia orientalis... Other English names: Rabbit-ear, Hare's-ear Cabbage, Klinkweed... Introduced from Europe, probably with flax seed, about 1892.
1923 Census Plants Victoria (Field Naturalists' Club Victoria) 9 Thelymitra antennifera..Rabbit-ears.
1928 V. Woolf Let. 15 Oct. (1977) III. 545 Might I beg some Saviour's flannel or rabbit ear?
1939 Steven's Point (Wisconsin) Daily Jrnl. 23 May 7/1 The rabbit's ears, and the tares and the clover..were told to grow wherever they pleased. They could grow in the fields and the meadows..and in the cracks of rocks.
1985 Austral. Plants Dec. 223 Thelymitra antennifera (Rabbit Ears). Bears 1–3 large scented yellow flowers which open freely on warm days in spring.
1999 National Trust Mag. Summer 30/1 28 varieties are planted in the walk, a mixture of standards, Hybrid Teas and Floribunda, simply bordered by beds of Catmint (Nepeta mussini ) and Rabbits' Ears (Stachys byzantina ).
2. North American Sport (chiefly Baseball). A keen sense of hearing or high level of attention, esp. in a context where this is inappropriate or causes trouble. Also: (a name for) a person possessing this.
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1933 W. Winchell in Havana Evening Telegram 3 May 2/2 Rabbit ears is a player who hears everything said about him.
1949 Winnipeg Free Press 6 May 22/4 He always had ‘rabbit ears’, as they say in baseball about a guy who listens to rival bench jockeys.
1961 N.Y. Times 29 Apr. 23/4 Another thing I tell 'em [sc. umpires] is not to have rabbit ears. Never mind the wrecking crew in the dugout.
1998 Chicago Tribune 7 Dec. iii. 10/5 The official..had a case of rabbit ears... I said, ‘That's a foul.’ I got a technical.
2001 Dayton (Ohio) Daily News (Nexis) 12 July 1 d Hey rabbit ears, don't be (flashing your finger) up here. You're supposed to be a ballplayer..act like one.
3. Chiefly North American. An indoor television aerial consisting of a base supporting two (usually adjustable) metal rods that form a V shape resembling the ears of a rabbit.
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society > communication > broadcasting > television > transmitting or receiving apparatus > [noun] > aerial
television mast1931
rabbit ears1952
1952 Chron.-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio) 19 May (Classifieds section) 17/2 7″ Table model T.V. with ‘rabbit ears’ aerial. $25.
1956 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 6 July 10/4 (advt.) Bid farewell to pesky ‘rabbit ears’ and unsightly roof antennas.
1978 Tucson (Arizona) Mag. Dec. 37/1 I use rabbit ears with my set and get a perfect picture.
1996 R. Doyle Woman who walked into Doors xxv. 167 We had a telly, a big old one with only two knobs on it that took ages to warm up. We only had rabbit's ears so we were stuck with just R.T.E.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1906