folk Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun people in general (often used in the plural)
    folks; common people.
    • 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
  2. noun a social division of (usually preliterate) people
    tribe.
  3. noun people descended from a common ancestor
    kinfolk; family; family line; phratry; kinsfolk; sept.
    • his family has lived in Massachusetts since the Mayflower
  4. noun the traditional and typically anonymous music that is an expression of the life of people in a community
    folk music; ethnic music.

WordNet

Folk, Folks collective noun & plural (Also<
  • Folk
  • Folks
)
Etymology
AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. flk, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.
Definitions
  1. (Eng. Hist.) In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. Obs.
    The organization of each folk, as such, sprang mainly from war. J. R. Green.
  2. People in general, or a separate class of people; -- generally used in the plural form, and often with a qualifying adjective; as, the old folks; poor folks. Colloq.
    In winter's tedious nights, sit by the fire With good old folks, and let them tell thee tales. Shak.
  3. The persons of one's own family; as, our folks are all well. Colloq. New Eng. Bartlett.

Webster 1913