Fork Definition

fôrk
forked, forking, forks
noun
forks
An instrument of greatly varying size with a handle at one end and two or more pointed prongs at the other: forks are variously used as eating utensils and for pitching hay, breaking up soil, etc.
Webster's New World
An implement with two or more prongs used for raising, carrying, piercing, or digging.
American Heritage
Something resembling a fork in shape.
Tuning fork.
Webster's New World
The point where a river, road, etc. is divided into two or more branches, or where branches join to form a river, road, etc.
Webster's New World
A division into branches; bifurcation.
Webster's New World
verb
forked, forking, forks
To pick up, spear, or pitch with a fork.
Webster's New World
To make into the shape of a fork.
Webster's New World
To attack (two chessmen) simultaneously with a single chessman.
Webster's New World
To divide into branches; be bifurcated.
Where the road forks.
Webster's New World
To pay. Used with over, out, or up:
Forked over $80 for front-row seats; forked up the money owed.
American Heritage
Antonyms:
idiom
fork over
  • to pay out or hand over
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Fork

Noun

Singular:
fork
Plural:
forks

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Fork

Origin of Fork

  • From Middle English forke (“digging fork”), from Old English force, forca (“forked instrument used to torture”), from Proto-Germanic *furkǭ, *furkô (“fork”), from Latin furca (“pitchfork, forked stake", also "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. 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.

    From Wiktionary

  • 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 (“bolt”) (plural), Old Saxon fercal (“lock, bolt, bar”), Old Norse forkr (“pole, staff, stick”), Norwegian fork (“stick, bat”), Swedish fork (“pole”).

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English forke digging fork from Old English forca and from Old North French forque both from Latin furca

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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