fork English · revision 10461

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1000|origins=la furca}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fɔːk/ ''(UK)''; /fɔɹk/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English forke, [[bor|ang|forca|t=pitchfork, forked instrument or weapon]], force,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) a Germanic borrowing (compare Old Frisian forke, Dutch vork, Old Norse forkr) of Latin [[m|la|furca|t=two-pronged fork, pitchfork]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) a word of uncertain origin.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It was reinforced in Middle English by Old North French forque, from the same Latin word.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A forked instrument used by torturers, a pitchfork or agricultural fork: about 1000, in Ælfric.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Forks were originally agricultural implements.^(Cresswell 2021) Plural forken meant a gallows (before 1200), and a forked stake or post is from about 1200;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) a forked weapon is from before 1300.^(Barnhart 1988) The fork for eating, first recorded in 1463, came under the influence of Old North French forque;^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) table forks are said not to have been used among the English nobility until about 1430.^(Etymonline) The division of a river is from 1753, of a road from 1839,^(Etymonline) and a part of a bicycle from 1871.^(Etymonline) In chess, an attack on two pieces at once is from the 1650s,^(Etymonline) and in old slang ''forks'' were the fingers (1812).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The verb, to divide into branches, is from before 1325,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) to pitch with a fork from 1812, and ''fork out'', to pay, from 1831.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – a forked implement.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1325 – to branch (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1463 – a table fork.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1650s – a chess fork.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1753 – a fork of a river.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1831 – fork out.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1839 – a fork in a road.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A utensil with two or more prongs, used for eating or serving [[food]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A pronged tool used for digging, lifting or pitching.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A division into two or more branches, as of a road or river, or the point where it divides.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chess)'' An attack by one piece on two others at once.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To divide into branches.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To lift, pitch or dig with a fork.^(AHD)

+ # ''(informal, fork out or over)'' To pay.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[forker]]

+ * [[forkful]]

+ * [[forkless]]

+ * [[forklike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pitchfork]]

+ * [[bifurcate]]

+ * [[forked]]

+ * [[furcate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}