folk
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folk¹
- /fəʊk/ UK
- /foʊk/ US
- /foʊlk/ US, nonstandard
Rhymes with -əʊk, -əʊlk
Where it comes from
From Middle English folk, from Old English folc, from Proto-West Germanic *folk, from Proto-Germanic *fulką, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁-gós, from *pleh₁- (“to fill”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Foulk, West Frisian folk, Dutch volk, German Low German and German Volk, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish folk, Faroese and Icelandic fólk. Doublet of volk.
noun folks · vok · volk · volge · volke
- A people; a tribe or nation; the inhabitants of a region, especially the native inhabitants. The organization of each folk, as such, sprang mainly from war.
- People, persons. There were a lot of folk in the streets.
- One’s relatives, especially one’s parents. I need to call my folks back home.
- Ellipsis of folk music
adjective vok · volk · volge · volke
- Of or pertaining to the inhabitants of a land, their culture, tradition, or history.
- Of or pertaining to common people as opposed to ruling classes or elites.
- Of or related to local building materials and styles.
- Believed or transmitted by the common people; not academically or ideologically correct or rigorous. folk psychology; folk linguistics
Folk²
Where it comes from
* As a German surname, variant of Volk (“people, tribe”).
* As an English surname, variant of Foulk, related to the noun folk, thus cognate with the above.
proper noun Folks · Vokes
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: tribe, phratry, sept, country, family, kinfolk, kinsfolk, hillbilly, folk music, ethnic music, western, nonclassical, common people, family line, folklore, tradition
Translations
Every language
noun inhabitants of a region
| Español | pueblo, gente |
|---|---|
| Português | povo |
| Français | peuple |
| Deutsch | Volk |
| Italiano | gente, autoctono, popolo, abitante |
| Русский | наро́д naród |
adj of or related to local building materials and styles; not imported — see also vernacular
| 中文 | 民 mín |
|---|---|
| Français | populaire |
| Deutsch | Volks- |
| Русский | наро́дный naródnyj |
| Tiếng Việt | dân |
| العربية | شَعْبِيّ šaʕbiyy |
adj believed or transmitted by the common people; not academically correct or rigorous
| Русский | наро́дный naródnyj |
|---|
Talk about this word "folk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/folk. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. folk. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/folk "folk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/folk.Cite this
@misc{folk_2026,
title = {folk},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/folk},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
