{ Folk (fōk),
Folks (fōks) }, n. collect. & pl. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. fōlk,
Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E.
follow.]
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.
Folk song, one of a class of songs long popular with the common people. -- Folk speech, the speech of
the common people, as distinguished from that of the educated class.
Hear it pronounced