Folks
/foʊks/noun
Plural of folk, meaning people in general or a group of persons.
Did you know?“Folk” comes from a Germanic root for “people” or “multitude,” and its deeper relatives include words tied to the idea of a crowd or tribe rather than a casual modern “everyone.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pleh₂-
“to fill; full”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*fulką
“a crowd, troop, or host of people”
Old English
EN
folc
“people, tribe, nation, army”
Middle English
EN
folk
“people, persons, a group of people”
Modern English
EN
folks
“people; used informally to address or refer to people”
Explore more surprising origins