Adjacent Words

Folk definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FOLK, n. foke. [L. vulgus. The sense is a crowd, from collecting or pressing, not from following, but from the same root, as to follow is to press toward. Gr. Originally and properly it had no plural, being a collective noun; but in modern use, in America, it has lost its singular number, and we hear it only in the plural. It is a colloquial word, not admissible into elegant style.]
1. People in general, or any part of them without distinction. What do folks say respecting the war? Men love to talk about the affairs of other folks.
2. Certain people, discriminated from others; as old folks, and young folks. Children sometimes call their parents, the old folks. So we say sick folks; poor folks; proud folks.
3. In scripture, the singular number is used; as a few sick folk; impotent folk. Mark 6. John 5.
4. Animals.
The coneys are but a feeble folk. Proverbs 30.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: people in general (often used in the plural); "they're just country folk"; "folks around here drink moonshine"; "the common people determine the group character and preserve its customs from one generation to the next" [syn: folk, folks, common people]
2: a social division of (usually preliterate) people [syn: tribe, folk]
3: people descended from a common ancestor; "his family has lived in Massachusetts since the Mayflower" [syn: family, family line, folk, kinfolk, kinsfolk, sept, phratry]
4: the traditional and typically anonymous music that is an expression of the life of people in a community [syn: folk music, ethnic music, folk]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural folk or folks) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English folc; akin to Old High German folc people Date: before 12th century 1. archaic a group of kindred tribes forming a nation ; people 2. the great proportion of the members of a people that determines the group character and that tends to preserve its characteristic form of civilization and its customs, arts and crafts, legends, traditions, and superstitions from generation to generation 3. plural a certain kind, class, or group of people <old folks> <just plain folk> <country folk> <media folk> 4. plural people generally 5. folks plural the persons of one's own family; especially parents 6. folk music II. adjective Date: before 12th century 1. originating or traditional with the common people of a country or region and typically reflecting their lifestyle <folk hero> <folk music> 2. of or relating to the common people or to the study of the common people <folk sociology>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. folk or folks) 1 (treated as pl.) people in general or of a specified class (few folk about; townsfolk). 2 (in pl.) (usu. folks) one's parents or relatives. 3 (treated as sing.) a people. 4 (treated as sing.) colloq. traditional music. 5 (attrib.) of popular origin; traditional (folk art). Phrases and idioms: folk-dance 1 a dance of popular origin. 2 the music for such a dance. folk etymology a popular modifying of the form of a word or phrase to make it seem to be derived from a more familiar word (e.g. forlorn hope). folk memory recollection of the past persisting among a people. folk-singer a singer of folk-songs. folk-song a song of popular or traditional origin or style. folk-tale a popular or traditional story. folk-ways the traditional behaviour of a people. Etymology: OE folc f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Folk Folk (f[=o]k), Folks Folks (f[=o]ks), n. collect. & pl. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f[=o]lk, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.] 1. (Eng. Hist.) In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [Obs.] The organization of each folk, as such, sprang mainly from war. --J. R. Green. 2. People in general, or a separate class of people; -- generally used in the plural form, and often with a qualifying adjective; as, the old folks; poor folks. [Colloq.] In winter's tedious nights, sit by the fire With good old folks, and let them tell thee tales. --Shak. 3. The persons of one's own family; as, our folks are all well. [Colloq. New Eng.] --Bartlett. Folk song, one of a class of songs long popular with the common people. Folk speech, the speech of the common people, as distinguished from that of the educated class.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(folks) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. Note: 'folk' can also be used as the plural form for meaning 1. 1. You can refer to people as folk or folks. Country folk can tell you that there are certain places which animals avoid... ...old folks. = people N-PLURAL: usu with supp 2. You can refer to your close family, especially your mother and father, as your folks. (INFORMAL) I've been avoiding my folks lately. N-PLURAL: usu poss N 3. You can use folks as a term of address when you are talking to several people. (INFORMAL) This is it, folks: the best record guide in the business. N-VOC 4. Folk art and customs are traditional or typical of a particular community or nation. ...traditional Chinese folk medicine. ADJ: ADJ n 5. Folk music is music which is traditional or typical of a particular community or nation. ...Irish folk music. ADJ: ADJ n • Folk is also a noun. ...a variety of music including classical, jazz, and folk. N-UNCOUNT 6. Folk can be used to describe something that relates to the beliefs and opinions of ordinary people. Jack was a folk hero in the Greenwich Village bars... ADJ: ADJ n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

fok:

The translation of `am, `am "a people or nation" (Ge 33:15, "some of the folk that are with me"; Pr 30:26, "The conies are but a feeble folk"); of le'om, with the same meaning (Jer 51:58, "the folk in the fire," the Revised Version (British and American) "the nations for the fire"); "sick folk" is the translation of arrhostos, "not strong" (Mr 6:5); of ton asthenounton, participle of astheneo, "to be without strength," "weak," "sick" (Joh 5:3, the Revised Version (British and American) "them that were sick"); "sick folks," of astheneis plural of asthenes, "without strength," the Revised Version (British and American) "sick folk" (Ac 5:16).

W. L. Walker

Moby Thesaurus

Everyman, John Doe, Public, acknowledged, admitted, animal kingdom, blood, body politic, breed, brood, citizenry, clan, class, common man, commonwealth, community, community at large, constituency, conventional, cultural community, customary, deme, dwellers, established, estate, ethnic group, everybody, everyman, everyone, everywoman, family, fixed, folks, general public, gens, gentry, habitancy, hallowed, handed down, heroic, hoary, house, household, immemorial, inhabitants, inveterate, kind, kindred, legendary, line, lineage, linguistic community, long-established, long-standing, matriclan, men, menage, mythological, nation, nationality, of long standing, of the folk, oral, order, patriclan, people, people at large, people in general, persons, phratry, phyle, plant kingdom, polity, populace, population, prescriptive, public, race, received, recognized, rooted, sept, society, species, speech community, state, stem, stirps, stock, strain, time-honored, totem, traditional, tribe, tried and true, true-blue, understood, unwritten, venerable, whole people, world, worshipful, you and me