fold1
(foʊld)
v.t. 1. to bend (cloth, paper, etc.) over upon itself.
2. to bring into a compact form by bending and laying parts together: to fold up a map.
3. to bring together and intertwine or cross: He folded his arms on his chest.
4. to bend or wind; entwine: The child folded his arms around my neck.
5. to bring (the wings) close to the body, as a bird on alighting.
6. to enclose; wrap; envelop: to fold something in paper.
7. to embrace or clasp; enfold: to fold someone in one's arms.
8. to place (one's cards) facedown so as to withdraw from the play.
9. Informal. to bring to an end; close up: to fold a business.
v.i. 10. to be folded or be capable of folding.
11. to place one's cards facedown so as to withdraw from the play.
12. a. to fail, esp. to go out of business: The magazine folded after a few years.
b. to end a run; close: The show will fold next week.
13. fold in, to blend (a cooking ingredient) into a mixture by gently turning one part over another: Fold in the egg whites.
14. fold out or down, to spread or open up; unfold.
n. 15. a part that is folded; pleat; layer: folds of cloth.
16. a line, crease, or hollow made by folding.
17. a hollow place in undulating ground.
18. a portion of rock strata that is folded or bent, as an anticline or syncline, or that connects horizontal strata, as a monocline.
19. a coil of a serpent, string, etc.
20. the act of folding or doubling over.
21. a margin or ridge formed by the folding of a membrane or other flat body part; plica.
[before 900; Middle English folden, falden, Old English fealdon]
fold′a•ble, adj.
fold2
(foʊld)
n. 1. an enclosure for sheep.
2. the sheep kept within it.
3. a flock of sheep.
4. a church or its members.
5. a group sharing common beliefs, values, etc.: to rejoin the fold.
v.t. 6. to confine (sheep or other domestic animals) in a fold.
[before 900; Middle English fold, fald, Old English fald, falod]
-fold
a combining form meaning “having the number of kinds or parts” or “multiplied the number of times” specified by the initial element: fourfold; manyfold.
[Middle English; Old English
-fald, -feald, c. Old Frisian, Old Saxon
-fald, Old High German
-falt, Old Norse
-faldr, Gothic
-falths, all representing the Germanic base of
fold1; akin to Greek
-ploos, -plous (see
diplo-), Latin
-plus (see
double),
-plex -plex]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.