fork
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /fɔːk/
ipa: /fɔɹk/
ipa: [fo̞ɹk]
note: without the horse–hoarse merger, rhotic
ipa: /fo(ː)ɹk/
rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)k
Forms: form: forks
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”).
Senses: glosses: Any of several types of pronged (tined) tools (physical tools), as follows:
A utensil with spikes used to put solid food into the mouth, or to hold food down while cutting.
coordinate_terms: spoon
knife
table knife
butter knife
steak knife
spork
foon
chork
glosses: Any of several types of pronged (tined) tools (physical tools), as follows:
Any of several types of pronged tools for use on farms, in fields, or in the garden or lawn, such as a smaller hand fork for weeding or a larger one for turning over the soil.
glosses: Any of several types of pronged (tined) tools (physical tools), as follows:
Any of several types of pronged tools for use on farms, in fields, or in the garden or lawn, such as a smaller hand fork for weeding or a larger one for turning over the soil.
Such a pronged tool having a long straight handle, generally for two-handed use, as used for digging, lifting, mucking, pitching, etc.
glosses: Any of several types of pronged (tined) tools (physical tools), as follows:
A tuning fork.
qualifier: by abstraction
glosses: A fork in the road, as follows:
An intersection in a road or path where one road is split into two.
raw_tags: from the tool shape
qualifier: by abstraction
glosses: A fork in the road, as follows:
A decision point.
raw_tags: from the tool shape
antonyms: confluence
qualifier: by abstraction
glosses: A point where a waterway, such as a river or other stream, splits and flows into two (or more) different directions.
raw_tags: from the tool shape
examples: text: a thunderbolt with three forks
text: this fork of the river dries up during droughts
synonyms: branch
prong
qualifier: analogous to any prong of a pronged tool
glosses: 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.
qualifier: decision-making
glosses: A point in time where one has to make a decision between two life paths.
qualifier: decision-making
glosses: A point in time where one has to make a decision between two life paths.
Either of the (figurative) paths thus taken.
qualifier: by abstraction
glosses: (software development, content management, data management) A departure from having a single source of truth (SSOT), sometimes intentionally but usually unintentionally.
Any of the pieces/versions (of software, content, or data sets) thus created.
antonyms: single source of truth, SSOT
raw_tags: from a physical fork
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
software
qualifier: by abstraction
glosses: (software development, content management, data management) A departure from having a single source of truth (SSOT), sometimes intentionally but usually unintentionally.
The launch of one or more separate software development efforts based upon a modified copy of an existing project, especially in free and open-source software.
raw_tags: from a physical fork
examples: text: LibreOffice is a fork of OpenOffice.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
software
qualifier: by abstraction
glosses: (software development, content management, data management) A departure from having a single source of truth (SSOT), sometimes intentionally but usually unintentionally.
The launch of one or more separate software development efforts based upon a modified copy of an existing project, especially in free and open-source software.
Any of the software projects resulting from the launch of such separate software development efforts based upon a copy of the original project.
raw_tags: from a physical fork
examples: text: A content fork may be intentional (as from a schism about goals) or unintentional (merely from a lack of reorganizing, so far).
qualifier: by abstraction; content management; content management
glosses: (software development, content management, data management) A departure from having a single source of truth (SSOT), sometimes intentionally but usually unintentionally.
The splitting of the coverage of a topic (within a corpus of content) into two or more pieces.
raw_tags: from a physical fork
qualifier: by abstraction; content management; content management; content management
glosses: (software development, content management, data management) A departure from having a single source of truth (SSOT), sometimes intentionally but usually unintentionally.
The splitting of the coverage of a topic (within a corpus of content) into two or more pieces.
Any of the pieces/versions of content thus created.
raw_tags: from a physical fork
examples: text: Known as a “fork”, the new version of bitcoin (dubbed Bitcoin XT) would support more transactions per hour, at the cost of increasing the amount of memory required to hold a full database of all the bitcoin transactions throughout history, known as the blockchain.
ref: 2015 August 17, Alex Hern, “Bitcoin's forked: chief scientist launches alternative proposal for the currency”, in The Guardian:
topics: business
cryptocurrencies
cryptocurrency
finance
qualifier: by abstraction
glosses: (software development, content management, data management) A departure from having a single source of truth (SSOT), sometimes intentionally but usually unintentionally.
A split in a blockchain resulting from protocol disagreements, or a branch of the blockchain resulting from such a split.
raw_tags: from a physical fork
topics: board-games
chess
games
glosses: The simultaneous attack of two adversary pieces with one single attacking piece (especially a knight).
glosses: The crotch.
examples: text: Are you qualified to drive a fork?
glosses: A forklift.
examples: text: Get those forks tilted back more or you're gonna lose that pallet!
glosses: Either of the blades of a forklift (or, in plural, the set of blades), on which the goods to be raised are loaded.
examples: text: The fork can be equipped with a suspension on mountain bikes.
topics: cycling
hobbies
lifestyle
motorcycling
sports
qualifier: by abstraction from a pronged tool's shape
glosses: 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.
synonyms: swell
pommel
glosses: The upper front brow of a saddle bow, connected in the tree by the two saddle bars to the cantle on the other end.
examples: text: resource fork
text: HFS+ uses forks to store file data. Generally there are two types of forks available in HFS+, the data fork and the resource fork.
ref: 2025, Fergus Toolan, File System Forensics, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 357:
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
qualifier: file systems
glosses: A set of data associated with an individual file in some file systems.
examples: text: They had run through all punishments, and just 'scaped the fork
ref: a. 1680, Samuel Butler, Characters:
glosses: A gallows.
Derived terms: sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: Ash Fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: barley fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: bent fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: cake fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: carving fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: chip fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: Clear Fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: cocktail fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: crab fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: cut with a knife and fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: dessert fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: digging fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: dinner fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: dung fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: dungfork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: farm-to-fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fingers were made before forks
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fish fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fondue fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: forkable
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: forkball
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork beam
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: forkbeard
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork bomb
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork buffet
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork chuck
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork dinner
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: forker
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork F
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork found in kitchen
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: forkful
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork grinder
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: forkhead
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork hoe
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork in the road
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork-leaved sundew
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: forkless
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork lightning
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: forklike
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: forkload
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork lunch
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork luncheon
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: forkmaker
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork-marked lemur
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork oil
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork supper
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: forktail
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork-tailed bush katydid
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork-tender
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork-tongued
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: fork truck
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: forkweed
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: forkwise
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: forky
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: garden fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: Grand Forks
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: hair fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: hard fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: harpoon fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: hayfork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: Hume's fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: impossible fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: knife-and-fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: knork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: manure fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: meat fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: meatfork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: military fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: Morton's fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: multifork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: pastry fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: pickle fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: pie fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: pitchfork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: prefork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: replication fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: Roaring Fork River
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: Rolling Fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: royal fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: salad fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: seafood fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: shakefork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: shrimp fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: silver fork novel
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: slave fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: soft fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: spade fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: spading fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: steak fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: toasting fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: toasting-fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: tree fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: tuning fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: unfork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: winnowing-fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: winnowing fork
sense: Some hyponyms (unsorted)
word: you can't outrun your fork
Related terms: denture
trident
a three-prong spear somewhat resembling a pitchfork