folk

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folk

(fōk)

n. pl. folk or folks

a. The common people of a society or region considered as the representatives of a traditional way of life and especially as the originators or carriers of the customs, beliefs, and arts that make up a distinctive culture: a leader who came from the folk.

b. Archaic A nation; a people.

2. folks Informal People in general: Folks around here are very friendly.

3. often folks People of a specified group or kind: city folks; rich folk.

4. folks Informal

a. One's parents: My folks are coming for a visit.

b. The members of one's family or childhood household; one's relatives.

adj.

Of, occurring in, or originating among the common people: folk culture; a folk hero.

Idiom:

just folks Informal

Down-to-earth, open-hearted.

[Middle English, from Old English folc; see pelə- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

folk

(fəʊk)

n, pl folk or folks

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

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

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

4. a people or tribe

5. (Anthropology & Ethnology) (modifier) relating to, originating from, or traditional to the common people of a country: a folk song.

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

ˈfolkish adj

ˈfolkishness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

folk

(foʊk)

n.

1. Usu., folks. (used with a pl. v.) people in general.

2. Often, folks. (used with a pl. v.) people of a specified class or group: country folk; poor folks.

3. (used with a pl. v.) people as the carriers of culture, esp. as representing a society's mores, customs, and traditions.

4. folks, Informal.

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

b. one's parents.

5. Archaic. a people or tribe.

adj.

6. of or originating among the common people: folk beliefs; folk dances.

7. having unknown origins and reflecting the traditional forms of a society: folk art.

[before 900; Middle English; Old English folc]

folk′ish, adj.

Folk

people in general; members of a family. See also kinsfolk.

folk

– folks

Folk and folks are sometimes used to refer to particular groups of people. Both these words are plural nouns. You always use a plural form of a verb with them.

1. 'folk'

Folk is sometimes used with a modifier to refer to all the people who have a particular characteristic.

Country folk are a suspicious lot.

She was like all the old folk, she did everything in strict rotation.

However, this is not a common use. You usually say country people or old people, rather than 'country folk' or 'old folk'.

2. 'folks'

Your folks are your close family, especially your mother and father. This usage is more common in American English than in British English.

I don't even have time to write letters to my folks.

Vera's visiting her folks up in Paducah.

Some people use folks when addressing a group of people in an informal way. This use is more common in American English than in British English.

That's all for tonight, folks.

They saw me drive out of town taking you folks up to McCaslin.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	folk - 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" common people, folks people - (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively; "old people"; "there were at least 200 people in the audience" country people, countryfolk - people raised in or living in a rural environment; rustics gentlefolk - people of good family and breeding and high social status grass roots - the common people at a local level (as distinguished from the centers of political activity) home folk - folks from your own home town pleb, plebeian - one of the common people
	2.	folk - a social division of (usually preliterate) people tribe social group - people sharing some social relation moiety - one of two basic subdivisions of a tribe phyle - a tribe of ancient Athenians
	3.	folk - people descended from a common ancestor; "his family has lived in Massachusetts since the Mayflower" family line, kinfolk, kinsfolk, phratry, sept, family people - members of a family line; "his people have been farmers for generations"; "are your people still alive?" homefolk - the people of your home locality (especially your own family); "he wrote his homefolk every day" house - aristocratic family line; "the House of York" dynasty - a sequence of powerful leaders in the same family gens, name - family based on male descent; "he had no sons and there was no one to carry on his name" blood line, bloodline, ancestry, lineage, pedigree, stemma, line of descent, parentage, blood, origin, descent, stock, line - the descendants of one individual; "his entire lineage has been warriors"
	4.	folk - the traditional and typically anonymous music that is an expression of the life of people in a community ethnic music, folk music folk ballad, folk song, folksong - a song that is traditionally sung by the common people of a region and forms part of their culture schottische - music performed for dancing the schottische popular music, popular music genre - any genre of music having wide appeal (but usually only for a short time) C and W, country and western, country music - a simple style of folk music heard mostly in the southern United States; usually played on stringed instruments gospel singing, gospel - folk music consisting of a genre of a cappella music originating with Black slaves in the United States and featuring call and response; influential on the development of other genres of popular music (especially soul) square-dance music - music performed for square dancing

folk

noun

1. people, persons, humans, individuals, men and women, human beings, humanity, inhabitants, mankind, mortals the innate reserve of country folk

2. (usually plural) family, parents, relations, relatives, tribe, clan, kin, kindred I've been avoiding my folks lately.

Proverbs
"There's nowt so queer as folk"

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

أناسشَعْبي، ريفي

lidélidový

folkfolke-mennesker

Leute Volks-...

λαϊκός

folclórico popular tradicional gente

gens peuple populaire

alòÿîu-, òjóî-fólk

gente i miei

folklorasliaudiesliaudinisliaudismaniškiai

ļaudistautas-

domačiljudje

halkhalka ait

人们民间的

folk

[fəʊk]

A. N

1. (= people) → gente f
country/city folk → la gente de campo/ciudad
ordinary folk → la gente llana
they're strange folk here → aquí la gente es algo rara
the common folk → el pueblo
my folks (= parents) → mis viejos mpl; (= family) → mi familia
the old folks → los viejos
hello folks! → ¡hola, amigos!

2. = folk music
see B

B. CPD folk art N → artesanía f popular or tradicional
folk dance N → baile m popular
folk dancing N → danza f folklórica
folk music N (traditional) → música f tradicional or folklórica; (contemporary) → música f folk
folk rock N → folk rock m
folk singer N → cantante mf de música folk
folk song N → canción f tradicional
folk tale N → cuento m popular
folk wisdom N → saber m popular

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

folk

[ˈfəʊk]

(= people) → gens mpl
ordinary folk → gens mpl ordinaires folk medicine

(MUSIC) → folk f folks

npl

(= parents) → parents mpl
my folks → mes parents

(= people) → gens mpl
old folks → personnes fpl âgées

(term of address) → les enfants
It's a question of money, folks → C'est une question d'argent, les enfants.

adj

(MUSIC) [band, artist, revival] → folk inv; [musician, festival, concert] → de folk, de musique folk

[hero, legend, tradition, belief] → populairefolk art n → art m populairefolk dance folk dancing n → danse f folklorique

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

folk

(also folks: inf: = people) → Leute pl; (= people in general) → die Leute, man; a lot of folk(s) believe … → viele (Leute) glauben …; there were a lot of folk at the concert → es waren eine Menge Leute bei dem Konzert; come on, folks (inf) → na los, Leute!; the young/old folk → die Jungen/Alten; old folk can’t … → alte Menschen können nicht …

(inf: = relatives: also folks) my folks → meine Leute (inf); the old folk(s) stayed at home → die alten Herrschaften blieben zu Haus

folk

folk dance

n → Volkstanz m

folklore

n → Folklore f, → Volkskunde f

folk medicine

n → Volksmedizin f

folk memory

n → (im Volk) lebendig gehaltene Überlieferungen pl

folk music

n → Volksmusik f

folk singer

n → Sänger(in) m(f) → von Volksliedern; (modern songs) → Folksänger(in) m(f)

folk song

n → Volkslied nt; (modern) → Folksong m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

folk

[fəʊk] n

a. (people) → gente f
country/city folk → gente di campagna/di città
my folks (fam) → i miei

b. (also folk music) → folk m inv

folk

(fouk) noun plural

(especially American folks) people. The folk in this town are very friendly.

adjective

(of the traditions) of the common people of a country. folk customs; folk dance; folk music.

folks noun plural

one's family. My folks all live nearby.

ˈfolklore noun

the study of the customs, beliefs, stories, traditions etc of a particular people. the folklore of the American Indians.

References in classic literature ?

These were the drinking-places of the Folk that lived in the caves.

View in context

"Those are Mary's 'God's folk,'" said Prince Andrew.

View in context

Maurs, and such-like folk, have led armies and made laws time out of mind; but those noble families would be somewhat astounded--if the accounts ever came to be fairly taken--to find how small their work for England has been by the side of that of the Browns.

View in context

In those days folk still believed in witches and trembled at a curse; and this one, falling so pat, like a wayside omen, to arrest me ere I carried out my purpose, took the pith out of my legs.

View in context

Seated round it were a dozen or so folk, of all ages and conditions, who set up such a shout as Alleyne entered that he stood peering at them through the smoke, uncertain what this riotous greeting might portend.

View in context

Well, nothing could do THAT--mother come of a race of sea-going folk and it was born in me.

View in context

"Some folks 'ud say that was a fine beast you druv in yesterday, Bob?"

View in context

I daresay he'd think me a hodd talker, as you Loamshire folks allays does hany one as talks the right language."

View in context

"Murderer and thief," he cried, "what do you here near honest folks' houses?

View in context

Well, here is "more about Dorothy," and about our old friends the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, and about the Cowardly Lion, and Ozma, and all the rest of them; and here, likewise, is a good deal about some new folks that are queer and unusual.

View in context

He was one of these broken-down Eton or 'Arrer fellers, folks said.

View in context

I'm glad you did your part--some folks don't, you know.

View in context

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