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fork

noun
/fɔːk/UK/fɔɹk/US/fo(ː)ɹk/

Etymology

From Middle English forke (“digging fork”), from Old English force, forca (“forked instrument used to torture”), from Proto-West Germanic *furkō (“fork”), from Latin furca (“pitchfork, forked stake; gallows, beam, stake, support post, yoke”), of uncertain origin. The Middle English word was later reinforced by Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French forque (= Old French forche whence French fourche), also from the Latin. Doublet of fourche and furcate. Cognate also with North Frisian forck (“fork”), Dutch vork (“fork”), Danish fork (“fork”), German Forke (“pitchfork”). Displaced native gafol, ġeafel, ġeafle (“fork”), from Old English. In its primary sense of “fork”, Latin furca appears to be derived from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰerk(ʷ)-, *ǵʰerg(ʷ)- (“fork”), although the development of the -c- is difficult to explain. In other senses this derivation is unlikely. For these, perhaps it is connected to Proto-Germanic *furkaz, *firkalaz (“stake, stick, pole, post”), from Proto-Indo-European *perg- (“pole, post”). If so, this would relate the word to Old English forclas pl (“bolt”), Old Saxon ferkal (“lock, bolt, bar”), Old Norse forkr (“pole, staff, stick”), Norwegian fork (“stick, bat”), Swedish fork (“pole”).

  1. derived from *perg-✻ — “pole, post”
  2. derived from *furkaz✻
  3. derived from *ǵʰerk(ʷ)-✻
  4. derived from forque
  5. derived from furca — “pitchfork, forked stake; gallows, beam, stake, support post, yoke”
  6. inherited from *furkō✻ — “fork”
  7. inherited from force
  8. inherited from forke — “digging fork”

Definitions

  1. Any of several types of pronged (tined) tools (physical tools), as follows

    Any of several types of pronged (tined) tools (physical tools), as follows:

  2. A fork in the road, as follows

    A fork in the road, as follows:

  3. A point where a waterway, such as a river or other stream, splits and flows into two (or…

    A point where a waterway, such as a river or other stream, splits and flows into two (or more) different directions.

  4. ›+ 19 more definitions

    1. One of the parts into which anything is furcated or divided

      One of the parts into which anything is furcated or divided; a prong; a branch of a stream, a road, etc.; a barbed point, as of an arrow.

      • a thunderbolt with three forks
      • this fork of the river dries up during droughts

    2. A point in time where one has to make a decision between two life paths.

    3. (software development, content management, data management) A departure from having a…

      (software development, content management, data management) A departure from having a single source of truth (SSOT), sometimes intentionally but usually unintentionally.

    4. The simultaneous attack of two adversary pieces with one single attacking piece…

      The simultaneous attack of two adversary pieces with one single attacking piece (especially a knight).

    5. The crotch.

    6. A forklift.

      • Are you qualified to drive a fork?

    7. Either of the blades of a forklift (or, in plural, the set of blades), on which the goods…

      Either of the blades of a forklift (or, in plural, the set of blades), on which the goods to be raised are loaded.

      • Get those forks tilted back more or you're gonna lose that pallet!

    8. In a bicycle or motorcycle, the portion of the frameset holding the front wheel, allowing…

      In a bicycle or motorcycle, the portion of the frameset holding the front wheel, allowing the rider to steer and balance, also called front fork.

      • The fork can be equipped with a suspension on mountain bikes.

    9. The upper front brow of a saddle bow, connected in the tree by the two saddle bars to the…

      The upper front brow of a saddle bow, connected in the tree by the two saddle bars to the cantle on the other end.

    10. A set of data associated with an individual file in some file systems.

      • resource fork
      • HFS+ uses forks to store file data. Generally there are two types of forks available in HFS+, the data fork and the resource fork.

    11. A gallows.

      • They had run through all punishments, and just 'scaped the fork

    12. To divide into two or more branches or copies.

      • A road, a tree, or a stream forks.

    13. To move with a fork (as hay or food).

      • forking the sheaves on the high-laden cart
      • Brianna curbed her pang of envy as she forked her plain, low-fat, crouton-free salad niçoise into her mouth and shook her head.

    14. To kick someone in the crotch.

    15. To shoot into blades, as corn does.

    16. To simultaneously attack two opposing pieces with a single attacking piece.

    17. Euphemistic form of fuck.

      • They were forking each other in the back room.

    18. The bottom of a sump into which the water of a mine drains.

    19. To bale a shaft dry.

      • Forking the water, is drawing it all out; and when it is done, they say, “the mine or the water is forked;” and “the engine is in fork.”

The neighborhood

Derived

Ash Fork, barley fork, bent fork, cake fork, carving fork, chip fork, Clear Fork, cocktail fork, crab fork, cut with a knife and fork, dessert fork, digging fork, dinner fork, dung fork, dungfork, farm-to-fork, fingers were made before forks, fish fork, fondue fork, forkable, forkball, fork beam, forkbeard, fork bomb, fork buffet, fork chuck, fork dinner, forker, fork F, fork found in kitchen, forkful, fork grass, fork grinder, forkhead, fork hoe, fork in the road, fork-leaved sundew, forkless, fork lightning, forklike · +66 more

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at fork. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01fork02road03roads04roadstead05anchorage06anchored07sarcelly08forked09forks

A definitional loop anchored at fork. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

9 hops · closes at fork

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA