Etymology

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The Modern English word "folk", derives from Old English "folc" meaning "common people", "men", "tribe" or "multitude". The Old English noun itself came from Proto-Germanic "*fulka" which perhaps originally referred to a "host of warriors" (compare Old Norse "volc" meaning "people" but more so "army" or "detachment" and Lithuanian "pulkas" meaning "crowd", the latter is considered to be an early Lithuanian loanword from Germanic origin). The word gradually disappeared from English after the Norman Invasion but was reintroduced in 1846 by antiquarian William J. Thoms (1803-85) as an Anglo-Saxonism. This word revived folk in a modern sense of "of the common people, whose culture is handed down orally," and opened up a flood of compound formations, eg. folk art (1921), folk-hero (1899), folk-medicine (1898), folk-tale (1891), folk-song (1847), folk-dance (1912). Folk-music is from 1889; in reference to the branch of modern popular music (originally associated with Greenwich Village in New York City) it dates from 1958.

Cognates in other Germanic language

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Folk has a cognate in almost every other Germanic language, all deriving from Proto-Germanic "*fulka", some are listed below:

• Danish - folk
• Dutch - volk
• Swedish - folk
• Frisian - folk
• Norwegian - folk
• German - Volk
• Afrikaans - folk

More on [ Folk ]

Folk - Twitter Search

@Glamward opera, folk, electro, harp, jazz, music w. beatboxing, dub, & hip hop influences. 1 sister has a Bjork-meets-Newsom voice
cantinera (Amanda) Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:50:20 -0000
@Glamward opera, folk, electro, harp, jazz, music w. beatboxing, dub, & hip hop influences. 1 sister has a Bjork-meets-Newsom voice
RT@Taste_fulChloe#IGrewUpOn Gullah Gullah Island <--- I Think All Uss Black Folk Did =)) Lmaooooo
xOxLiveLoveLEX (Lexus Crenshaw) Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:49:30 -0000
RT@Taste_fulChloe#IGrewUpOn Gullah Gullah Island <--- I Think All Uss Black Folk Did =)) Lmaooooo
Haaa channel 58 in Phoenix! RT @AlmaLaCubana: RT @MrIsaiahAshton: #igrewupon The Box. That was MTV for us poor folk who didn't have cable.
bcampos1 (Bobby Campos) Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:49:13 -0000
Haaa channel 58 in Phoenix! RT @AlmaLaCubana: RT @MrIsaiahAshton: #igrewupon The Box. That was MTV for us poor folk who didn't have cable.
Our next shows are @CakeShopnyc on 12/22 w/a great rock line-up and @BruarFalls on 1/27 w/a amazing Folk Line-up
MusicvsHunger (Music vs Hunger) Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:49:01 -0000
Our next shows are @CakeShopnyc on 12/22 w/a great rock line-up and @BruarFalls on 1/27 w/a amazing Folk Line-up
RT @bubblybex: Ok lovely twitter folk. Help me get #kickcancerthischristmas trending! http://bit.ly/HZfeW We WILL beat this HORRIBLE il ...
Djsavedme (Aaryn Fuller) Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:48:57 -0000
RT @bubblybex: Ok lovely twitter folk. Help me get #kickcancerthischristmas trending! http://bit.ly/HZfeW We WILL beat this HORRIBLE il ...
That's Czary! RT @marsh_un just saw alix dobkin @tenementmuseum. communist lesbian folk songs!
RedScareBot (Robot J. McCarthy) Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:48:18 -0000
That's Czary! RT @marsh_un just saw alix dobkin @tenementmuseum. communist lesbian folk songs!

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