fold

Fold, to bend over, and fold, a pen for sheep, are separate Old English words.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /foʊld/; /ˈfəʊld/ (UK)^[4]

fold¹ bend

Etymology

It is Middle English folden, inherited from Old English fealdan (“to fold, wrap up”) (Mercian faldan),^[1][2][3] from Proto-Germanic *falþan,^[1][2][3] source also of Dutch vouwen, Old Norse falda, German falten and Gothic falþan,^[1][2] which Watkins derives from PIE *pol-to-, from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to fold”).^[1][3] It is related to Latin plicāre, to fold (see ply).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To bend cloth back over itself: before 899, in Alfred's Boethius.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Of the arms, folded together, it is from late Old English.^[1] To give way or fail is from the mid-13th century,^[1] and to become doubled upon itself from about 1300.^[1] To yield to pressure is from the late 14th century.^[1] The noun, a bend or ply, is from the mid-13th century.^[1][3] Of a business, to close for lack of success, and in card games to withdraw, are later senses.^[5][6] In geology a bend in a rock stratum is a technical sense.^[5]

Timeline

• before 899 – to fold.^[2]
• mid-13th century – a fold; to fail.^[1]
• c. 1300 – to become doubled.^[1]
• late 14th century – to yield.^[1]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To bend something over so that one part lies on another.
2. To bring the arms or hands together; to close wings.
3. To wrap or enclose.
4. (informal) Of a business, to close; to fail.
5. To give in or collapse.

Noun

1. A part folded over, or a crease made by folding.
2. A bend in a stratum of rock.
3. A hill or hollow in undulating country.

Word family

• folder
• folding
• unfold
• -fold

fold² pen

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English falod (“stall, cattle-pen”), falæd, fald,^[1][2][3][7] a general Germanic word, cognate with Old Saxon faled, Middle Low German vālt, enclosure, dunghill, and Dutch vaalt, dunghill,^[1][2] of unknown origin.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A pen for domestic animals, especially sheep: before 700.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

Figurative use, especially of the Church as a fold of Christ's sheep, is from the mid-14th century (1340).^[1][8] The sheep contained in a fold are from 1669.^[8] The verb, to shut up in a fold, is Old English faldian.^[3]

Timeline

• before 700 – a sheepfold.^[2]
• 1340 – figurative, the Church.^[8]
• 1669 – the flock.^[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A fenced enclosure for sheep or other animals.
2. A group of people sharing beliefs, such as a church congregation: return to the fold.

Verb

1. To put or keep sheep in a fold.

Word family

• sheepfold

Related words

• ply
• plait
• multiply

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press