*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of fold

The verb is from Middle English folden, from Old English fealdan, from Proto-West Germanic *falþan, from Proto-Germanic *falþaną (“to fold”), from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to fold”). Cognate with Dutch vouwen, German

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
noun

An act of folding. · Any correct move in origami. · A bend or crease. · A layer, such as of folded or wrapped cloth.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

The verb is from Middle English folden, from Old English fealdan, from Proto-West Germanic *falþan, from Proto-Germanic *falþaną (“to fold”), from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to fold”). Cognate with Dutch vouwen, German falten. The noun is from Middle English folde, falde, itself derived from the verb.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 11 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*pel-",
        "id": "fold"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "folden"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English folden"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "fealdan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English fealdan"
    },
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      },
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    },
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        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*falþaną",
        "4": "",
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      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "der",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*pel-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to fold"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to fold”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "vouwen"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch vouwen"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "falten"
      },
      "expansion": "German falten"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "folde"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English folde"
    }
  ],
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      "folden",
      "folden#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "fealdan",
      "fealdan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*falþan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/falþan"
    ],
    [
      "*falþaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/falþaną"
    ],
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      "*pel-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/pel-"
    ],
    [
      "vouwen",
      "vouwen#Dutch"
    ],
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      "falten",
      "falten#German"
    ],
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      "folde",
      "folde#Middle_English"
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    ]
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}

Source etymology 1 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
verb

To bend (any thin material, such as paper) over so that it comes in contact with itself. · To make the proper arrangement (in a thin material) by bending. · To draw or coil (one’s arms, a snake’s body, etc.) around something so as to enclose or embrace it. · To stir (semisolid ingredients) gently, with an action as if folding over a solid.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

The verb is from Middle English folden, from Old English fealdan, from Proto-West Germanic *falþan, from Proto-Germanic *falþaną (“to fold”), from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to fold”). Cognate with Dutch vouwen, German falten. The noun is from Middle English folde, falde, itself derived from the verb.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 15 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*pel-",
        "id": "fold"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "folden"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English folden"
    },
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        "2": "ang",
        "3": "fealdan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English fealdan"
    },
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      },
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    },
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        "4": "",
        "5": "to fold"
      },
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    },
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      "name": "der",
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        "4": "",
        "5": "to fold"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to fold”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "vouwen"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch vouwen"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "falten"
      },
      "expansion": "German falten"
    },
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      "name": "inh",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "folde"
      },
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    }
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      "folden#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "fealdan#Old_English"
    ],
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      "*falþan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/falþan"
    ],
    [
      "*falþaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/falþaną"
    ],
    [
      "*pel-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/pel-"
    ],
    [
      "vouwen",
      "vouwen#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "falten",
      "falten#German"
    ],
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      "folde",
      "folde#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "falde",
      "falde#Middle_English"
    ]
  ],
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      "lang_code": "cs",
      "word": "foldovat",
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        "reshaped by analogy or addition of morphemes"
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        "To make the proper arrangement (in a thin material) by bending.",
        "To draw or coil (one’s arms, a snake’s body, etc.) around something so as to enclose or embrace it.",
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A pen or enclosure for sheep or other domestic animals. · Any enclosed piece of land belonging to a farm or mill; yard, farmyard. · An enclosure or dwelling generally. · A group of sheep or goats, particularly those kept in a given enclosure.

verb

To confine (animals) in a fold, to pen in. · To include in a spiritual ‘flock’ or group of the saved, etc. · To place sheep on (a piece of land) in order to manure it.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

The noun is from Middle English fold, fald, from Old English fald, falæd, falod (“fold, stall, stable, cattle-pen”), from Proto-West Germanic *falud, from Proto-Germanic *faludaz (“enclosure”). Akin to Scots fald, fauld (“an enclosure for livestock”), Dutch vaalt (“dung heap”), Middle Low German valt, vālt (“an inclosed space, a yard”), Danish fold (“pen for herbivorous livestock”), Swedish fålla (“corral, pen, pound”). The verb is from Late Middle English fooldyn, itself derived from the noun.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionfoldenm
  • Inherited-form mentionfaldang
  • Inherited-form mention*faludgmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*faludazgem-pro
  • Cognate mentionfaldsco
  • Cognate mentionvaltgml
  • Cognate mentionfoldda
  • Cognate mentionfållasv
  • Inherited-form mentionfooldynenm

This page abbreviates 3 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    },
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      "args": {
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        "2": "ang",
        "3": "fald"
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    },
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        "2": "fald"
      },
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    },
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        "1": "gml",
        "2": "valt",
        "3": "valt, vālt",
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      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "fold",
        "3": "",
        "4": "pen for herbivorous livestock"
      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
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        "3": "",
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      },
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    },
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      "fald",
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      "fald#Old_English"
    ],
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      "falæd",
      "falæd#Old_English"
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      "falod",
      "falod#Old_English"
    ],
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      "*falud",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/falud"
    ],
    [
      "*faludaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/faludaz"
    ],
    [
      "fald",
      "fald#Scots"
    ],
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      "fauld",
      "fauld#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "vaalt",
      "vaalt#Dutch"
    ],
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      "valt, vālt",
      "valt#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "fold",
      "fold#Danish"
    ],
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      "fålla",
      "fålla#Swedish"
    ],
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      "fooldyn",
      "fooldyn#Middle_English"
    ]
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      "pos": "noun",
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        "A pen or enclosure for sheep or other domestic animals.",
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        "An enclosure or dwelling generally.",
        "A group of sheep or goats, particularly those kept in a given enclosure."
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

The Earth; earth; land; country.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English folde, from Old English folde (“earth, land, country, district, region, territory, ground, soil, clay”), from Proto-Germanic *fuldǭ, *fuldō (“earth, ground; field; the world”). Cognate with Old Norse fold (“earth, land, field”), Norwegian and Icelandic fold (“land, earth, meadow”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionfoldeenm
  • Inherited-form mentionfoldeang · earth, land, country, district, region, territory, ground, soil, clay
  • Inherited-form mention*fuldǭgem-pro
  • Cognate mentionfoldnon · earth, land, field
  • Cognate mentionfoldis · land, earth, meadow
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian"
    },
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        "2": "fold",
        "t": "land, earth, meadow"
      },
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    }
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    ],
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      "fold",
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      "fold",
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for fold →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Zm9sZA