folk

[fohk]

noun

1. (used with a plural verb),  Usually folks. people in general.

   Folks say there wasn't much rain last summer.

2. (used with a plural verb),  Often folks. people of a specified class or group.

   country folk; poor folks.

3. (used with a plural verb),  people as the carriers of culture, especially as representing the composite of social mores, customs, forms of behavior, etc., in a society.

   The folk are the bearers of oral tradition.

4. Informal.,  folks,

   1. members of one's family; one's relatives.

      All his folks come from France.

   2. one's parents.

      Will your folks let you go?

   Synonyms: tribe, clan, people, kin, kinfolk

5. Archaic.,  a people or tribe.

adjective

1. of or originating among the common people.

   folk beliefs; a folk hero.

2. having unknown origins and reflecting the traditional forms of a society.

   folk culture; folk art.

folk

/ fəʊk /

noun

1. (functioning as plural; often plural in form) people in general, esp those of a particular group or class

   country folk

2. informal,  (functioning as plural; usually plural in form) members of a family

3. informal,  (functioning as singular) short for folk music

4. a people or tribe

5. (modifier) relating to, originating from, or traditional to the common people of a country

   a folk song

Other Word Forms

• folkish adjective
• folkishness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of folk¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English folc; cognate with Old Saxon, Old Norse folk, Old High German folk ( German Volk )

Word History and Origins

Origin of folk¹

Old English folc ; related to Old Saxon, Old Norse, Old High German folk

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. just folks, (of persons) simple, unaffected, unsophisticated, or open-hearted people.

   He enjoyed visiting his grandparents because they were just folks.

see just folks.

Example Sentences

South Korea's Supreme Court rejected the case, after the company argued that its version was derived from a folk song in the public domain.

Read more on BBC

“No, she’s not,” I sign back, wide-eyed as I watch my grandmother attacking a folk hero from Ghanaian mythology.

Read more on Literature

“Go ahead with your singing and soothsaying, folks,” Old Timothy said.

Read more on Literature

“Program managers answer to dozens and dozens of folks” and “have to go get permission to move a dollar to a better priority,” a former U.S.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“This was indeed a significant storm system. And many folks experienced significant impacts, with numerous reports of flooded roadways/freeways, rockslides and mudslides,” Cohen said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• community 
• family 
• group 
• people 
• public