WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Folk, Folks
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
Definition : 1. (Eng. Hist.)

Defn: 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.

collect. & pl.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913