folkways

[ fohk-weyz ]
/ ˈfoʊkˌweɪz /

plural noun Sociology.

the ways of living, thinking, and acting in a human group, built up without conscious design but serving as compelling guides of conduct.

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Origin of folkways

folk + ways; term introduced in a book of the same title (1907) by W. G. Sumner

Words nearby folkways

folknik, folkright, folksonomy, folksy, folktronica, folkways, folky, foll., folliberin, follicle, follicle mite
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to folkway

development, lifestyle, knowledge, habit, society, civilization, folklore, style, practice, system, rule, policy, rite, method, mores, customs, convention, ethnology, humanism, grounding

Example sentences from the Web for folkway

  • The same is true of any folkway so long as it is not yet doubted.

    Folkways|William Graham Sumner

  • Not subscribing to the folkway that prescribes seasick intoxication as an expression of joy, we did the town with discrimination.

    A Matter of Proportion|Anne Walker

British Dictionary definitions for folkway

folkways
/ (ˈfəʊkˌweɪz) /

pl n

sociol traditional and customary ways of living
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012