fork
Forms
- Plural
- forks
- present (v1)
- fork
- past (v2)
- forked
- past participle (v3)
- forked
- present participle
- forking
- 3rd person singular
- forks
Definitions
1.Any of several types of pronged (tined) tools (physical tools), as follows:
- Could we have a fork?
2.A point where a waterway, such as a river or other stream, splits and flows into two (or more) different directions.
- Could we have a fork?
3.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.
- Could we have a fork?
4.A fork in the road, as follows:
- Could we have a fork?
1.To divide into two or more branches or copies.
- A road, a tree, or a stream forks.
- A parent process forks a child process, which in turn can fork other processes.
- In this model, anyone can fork an existing repository and push changes to their personal fork.
2.To kick someone in the crotch.
3.To move with a fork (as hay or food).
- Brianna curbed her pang of envy as she forked her plain, low-fat, crouton-free salad niçoise into her mouth and shook her head.
4.To apply a fork to.
Frequency
Overall
Rare· #4590
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Rare
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
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.