English
folk
Folk comes from Middle English folk ‘people, folk’, from Proto-West Germanic *folk ‘military, army, troop’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *fulką.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fulką‘troop, army’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*folk‘military, army, troop’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150folc‘the people, especially the common people’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500folk‘people, folk’
- Englishearliest quotation 1878-1880same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fulką‘troop, army’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*folk‘military, army, troop’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150folc‘the people, especially the common people’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500folk‘people, folk’
- Englishearliest quotation 1878-1880same form
Earliest quotation: 1878-1880, John Richard Green: “The organization of each folk, as such, sprang mainly…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- ‘to fill’
people, public, full, complete, popular, plus, supply, plenty, fill, plain, completion, implement, accomplish, comply, supplement, poll, manipulation, complement, ample, plural, amplitude, plethora, amplify, depletion, plenary, replenish, replete, puri, plenum, deplete, plebs, plebeian, fulsome, 75 more
through Proto-West Germanic *folk ‘military, army, troop’
Today it means
noun A people; a tribe or nation; the inhabitants of a region, especially the native inhabitants.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *fulką / folk