folk

Plural: folks

Noun

• A group of people sharing a common culture or origin.
• people in general (often used in the plural)
  • "they're just country folk"
  • "folks around here drink moonshine"
• a social division of (usually preliterate) people
• people descended from a common ancestor
• the traditional and typically anonymous music that is an expression of the life of people in a community
• A people; a tribe or nation; the inhabitants of a region, especially the native inhabitants.
• People, persons.
• One’s relatives, especially one’s parents.
• Ellipsis of folk music.

Adj

• 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 or ideologically correct or rigorous.

Examples

• folk psychology; folk linguistics
• I need to call my folks back home.
• Playing FOLK might seem simple, but knowing the plural "FOLKS" can score extra points in Words With Friends.
• There were a lot of folk in the streets.
• Young folk, old folk, everybody come / To our little Sunday School, and have a lot of fun.

Synonyms

common people, ethnic music, family, family line, folk music, folks, kinfolk, kinsfolk, phratry, sept, tribe

Related Words

Folketing, Norfolk, Suffolk, landfolk, volk