I. ˈfōk noun
( plural folk or folks )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English folc; akin to Old High German folc people, band of warriors, Old Norse folk and perhaps to Albanian plok, plogn heap, Old English full — more at full
1. plural folks , archaic
a. : a group of kindred tribes forming a nation : people
the organization of each folk … sprang mainly from war — J.R.Green
b. : an animal kind or species
the conies are but a feeble folk — Prov 30:26 (Authorized Version)
2. plural folk : the masses of people in a homogeneous social group as contrasted with the individual or with a selected class : 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 folk , archaic : a mass or group of people in relation to a superior: as
a. : the subjects of a king
b. : the lay members of the church : laity
c. : the followers or retainers of a lord
d. : the domestics of a household
4. folk or folks plural : a certain kind or class of people — used with a qualifying adjective or phrase
fine folks
parties for the young folks
protecting their women folk
always ready to help folks in trouble
5. folks plural : people indefinitely
folks say the house is haunted
6. folks plural
a. : the persons of one's own family : relatives
b. : persons without pretensions or free from formality of manner
they like best the actors that they can feel easy with, that are just folks — Yale Review
II. adjective
Etymology: translation of German volks- (as in volkslied folk song), from gen. of volk people, common people, nation, from Old High German folc
1. : originated or widely used among the common people as distinguished from the academic, the cosmopolitan, the modern and professional, or the sophisticated
folk belief
folk hero
folk music
folk remedy
folk speech
2. : of or relating to the common people or to the study of the common people
folk sociology