folk

Meanings

Adjective

• 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 correct or rigorous.

Noun

• A grouping of smaller peoples or tribes as a nation.
• The inhabitants of a region, especially the native inhabitants.
• One’s relatives, especially one’s parents.
• Folk music.
• People in general.
• A particular group of people.

Origin

• From Middle English folk, from Old English folc, from Proto-West Germanic *folk, from Proto-Germanic *fulką, from Proto-Indo-European, from *pleh₁-. Cognate with German Volk, Dutch volk, Swedish folk and Danish folk. volk.