Folk

Folk

The English word Folk is derived from a Germanic noun, *fulka meaning "people" or "army" (i.e. a crowd as opposed to "a people" in a more abstract sense of clan or tribe). The English word folk has cognates in most of the other Germanic languages. Folk may be a Germanic root that is unique to the Germanic languages, although Latin vulgus, "the common people", has been suggested as a possible cognate.

Read more about Folk.

Famous quotes containing the word folk:

    Do you know what a soldier is, young man? He’s the chap who makes it possible for civilised folk to despise war.
    Allan Massie (b. 1938)

    The ties between gentle folk are as pure as water; the links between scoundrels are as thick as honey.
    Chinese proverb.

    Myths, as compared with folk tales, are usually in a special category of seriousness: they are believed to have “really happened,” or to have some exceptional significance in explaining certain features of life, such as ritual. Again, whereas folk tales simply interchange motifs and develop variants, myths show an odd tendency to stick together and build up bigger structures. We have creation myths, fall and flood myths, metamorphose and dying-god myths.
    Northrop Frye (1912–1991)