folk

noun

1. (archaic, countable)A people; a tribe or nation; the inhabitants of a region, especially the native inhabitants.

   “The organization of each folk, as such, sprang mainly from war.”

   “We thus arrive at a most unexpected imbroglio. The French have become a Germanic folk and the Germanic folk have become Gaulish!”

2. (collective, countable, plural, uncountable)People, persons.

   “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.”

   ““[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes[…]. And then, when you see [the senders], you probably find that they are the most melancholy old folk with malignant diseases. […]””

3. (collective, countable, plural, uncountable, usually)One’s relatives, especially one’s parents.

   “I need to call my folks back home.”

4. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable)Ellipsis of folk music.

adj

1. (not-comparable)Of or pertaining to the inhabitants of a land, their culture, tradition, or history.
2. (not-comparable)Of or pertaining to common people as opposed to ruling classes or elites.
3. (not-comparable)Of or related to local building materials and styles.
4. (not-comparable)Believed or transmitted by the common people; not academically or ideologically correct or rigorous.

   “folk psychology; folk linguistics”

   “Americans are not libertarians in the Cato Institute sense of the word, but they are folk libertarians in this sense of impulsive behaviour, which is a feature of American life that anyone who wants to govern the United States, Democratic or Republican, has to be aware of.”

name

1. A surname.