FOLD

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English falod; akin to Old Saxon faled enclosure Date: before 12th century an enclosure for sheep, 2. a flock of sheep, a group of people or institutions that share a common faith, belief, activity, or enthusiasm, II. transitive verb Date: before 12th century to pen up or confine (as sheep) in a ~, III. verb Etymology: Middle English, from Old English fealdan; akin to Old High German faldan to ~, Greek diplasios two~ Date: before 12th century transitive verb to lay one part over another part of , to reduce the length or bulk of by doubling over , to clasp together ; entwine , to clasp or enwrap closely ; embrace , to bend (as a layer of rock) into ~s, 6. to incorporate (a food ingredient) into a mixture by repeated gentle overturnings without stirring or beating, to incorporate closely, 7. to concede defeat by withdrawing (one's cards) from play (as in poker), to bring to an end, intransitive verb to become doubled or pleated, to fail completely ; collapse , to ~ one's cards (as in poker), ~able adjective IV. noun Date: 13th century a part doubled or laid over another part ; pleat , something that is ~ed together or that en~s, 3. a bend or flexure produced in rock by forces operative after the depositing or consolidation of the rock, an undulation in the landscape, a margin apparently formed by the doubling upon itself of a flat anatomical structure (as a membrane), a crease made by ~ing something (as a newspaper)