folk

¹folk

noun \ˈfōk\

plural folk or folks

Definition of FOLK

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

Examples of FOLK

1. Folks say that house is haunted.
2. Some folks think the law should be changed.
3. a home for old folks
4. the distinctive speech of folks from the South
5. I'll be spending the holidays with my folks.
6. His folks gave him everything a kid could want.

Origin of FOLK

Middle English, from Old English folc; akin to Old High German folc people

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to FOLK

Synonyms: blood, clan, folks, house, kin, kindred, kinfolk (or kinfolks), kinsfolk, line, lineage, people, race, stock, tribe

Related Words: blended family, nuclear family; extended family, household, kith; brood; descendant (also descendent), issue, offspring, progeny, scion, seed; clansman, kinsman, kinswoman, relative; dynasty

Near Antonyms: ancestry, birth, descent, extraction, origin, pedigree

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Other Anthropology Terms

ectomorph, ethnography, prehistory, yurt

Rhymes with FOLK

bloke, broke, choke, cloak, coke, croak, hoke, joke, moke, oak, poke, Polk, roque, smoke, soak, soke, spoke, stoke, stroke, toke, toque, yogh, yoke, yolk