Fork (pronounced fawrk)
(1) An instrument having two or more tines (popularly
called prongs), for holding, lifting, etc., as an implement for handling food
or any of various agricultural tools.
(2) Something resembling or suggesting this in form or
conceptually.
(3) As tuning fork, instruments used (1) in the tuning of
musical instruments and (2) by audiologists and others involved in the study or
treatment of hearing.
(4) In machinery, a type of yoke; a pronged part of any
device.
(5) A generalized description of the division into
branches.
(6) In physical geography and cartography, by
abstraction, the point or part at which a thing, as a river or a road, divides
into branches; any of the branches into which a thing divides (and used by some
as a convention to describe a principal tributary of a river.
(7) In horology, (in a lever escapement) the forked end
of the lever engaging with the ruby pin.
(8) In bicycle & motorcycle design, the support of
the front wheel axles, having the shape of a two-tined fork.
(9) In archery, the barbed head of an arrow.
(10) To pierce, raise, pitch, dig etc, with a fork.
(11) Metonymically (and analogous with the prongs of a
pronged tool), to render something to resemble a fork or describe something using
the shape as a metaphor.
(12) In chess, to maneuver so as to place two opponent's
pieces under simultaneous attack by the same piece (most associated with moves
involving the knight).
(13) In computer programming, to modify a software’s source
code to create a version sufficiently different to be considered a separate path
of development.
(14) To turn as indicated at a fork in a road, path etc.
(15) Figuratively, a point in time when a decision is
taken.
(16) In fulminology (the scientific (as opposed to the artistic or religious) study of lightning), as "forked lightning", the
type of atmospheric discharge of electricity which hits the ground in a bolt.
(17) In software development, content management &
data management, figuratively (by abstraction, from a physical fork), a departure
from having a single source of truth (SSOT) (unintentionally as originally
defined but later also applied where the variation was intentional; metonymically,
any of the instances of software, data sets etc, thus created.
(18) In World War II era British military jargon, the male
crotch, used to indicate the genital area as a point of vulnerability in physical
assault.
(19) in occupational slang, a clipping of forklift; any of
the blades of a forklift (or, in plural, the set of blades), on which the goods
to be raised are loaded.
(20) In saddlery, the upper front brow of a saddle bow,
connected in the tree by the two saddle bars to the cantle on the other end.
(21) In slang, a gallows (obsolete).
(22) As a transitive verb, a euphemistic for “fuck” one
of the variations on f***, ***k etc and used typically to circumvent text-based
filters.
(23) In underground, extractive mining, the bottom of a
sump into which the water of a mine drains; to bale a shaft dry.
(24) As the variant chork, an eating utensil made with a combination of chopstick & fork, intended for neophyte chopstick users.
Pre-1000: From the Middle English forke (digging fork), from the Old English force & forca (pitchfork,
forked instrument, forked weapon; forked instrument used to torture), from the Proto-West
Germanic furkō (fork), from the Latin
furca (pitchfork, forked stake;
gallows, beam, stake, support post, yoke) of uncertain origin. The Middle
English was later reinforced by the Anglo-Norman & Old Northern French forque (it was from the Old French forche which French gained fourche), also from the Latin. It was cognate with the Old Frisian forke, the North Frisian forck (fork), the Dutch vork (fork), the Danish vork (fork) and the German Forke (pitchfork). The evolved Middle English form displaced the native
Old English gafol, ġeafel & ġeafle (fork) (and the apparently
regionally specific forcel (pitchfork)
though the use from circa 1200 to mean “forked stake or post used as a prop
when erecting a gallows” did for a while endure, probably because of the
long-life of the architectural plans for a structure which demanded no change
or functional improvement.
Representation of the forks the Linux operating system. Software forks can extend, die off or merge with other forks.
The forks of The Latin furca (in
its primary sense of “fork”) may be from the primitive Indo-European gherk &
gherg (fork) although etymologists
have never traced any explanation for the addition of the -c-, something which
remains mysterious even if the word was influenced by the Proto-Germanic furkaz
& firkalaz (stake, stick, pole,
post) which was from the primitive Indo-European perg- (pole, post). If such
a link existed, it would relate the word to the Old English forclas pl (bolt), the Old Saxon ferkal (lock, bolt, bar), the Old Norse forkr (pole, staff, stick), the Norwegian
fork (stick, bat) and the Swedish fork (pole). The descendants in other languages include
the Sranan Tongo forku, the Dutch vork, the Japanese フォーク (fōku), the Danish korf, the
Kannada ಫೋರ್ಕ್ (phōrk), the Korean 포크 (pokeu), the Maori paoka,
the Tamil போர்க் (pōrk) and the Telugu ఫోర్క్ (phōrk). In many languages, the previous form was
retained for most purposes while the English fork was adopted in the context of
software development.
Forks can be designed for specific applications, this is a sardine fork, the dimensions dictated by the size of the standard sardine tin.
Although visitors from Western Europe discovered the
novelty of the table fork in Constantinople as early as the eleventh century, the
civilizing influence from Byzantium seems not to have come into use among the English
nobility until the 1400s and the evidence suggest it didn’t come into common use
before the early seventeenth century. The critical moment is said to have come in 1601 when the celebrated traveller and writer Thomas
Coryat (or Coryate) (circa 1577–1617) returned to London from one of his tours, bringing with him the then almost unknown table fork which he'd seen used in Italy. This "continental affectation" made him the subject of mirth and playwrights dubbed him "the fork-carrying traveller" while the street was earthier, the nickname "Furcifer" (from the Latin meaning "fork-bearer, rascal") soon adopted. Mr Coryat thus made one of the great contributions to the niceties of life, his other being the introduction to the English language of the word "umbrella", another influence from Italy.
Cause and effect: The fork in the road.
In Lewis
Carroll’s (1832–1898) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), when Alice comes
to a fork in the road, she encounters the Cheshire Cat sitting in a tree:
Alice: “Would
you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
Cat: “That
depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”
Alice: “I
don’t know.”
Cat: “Then
it doesn't matter which way you go.”
One can see
the cat’s point and a reductionist like Donald Rumsfeld (1932–2021: US defense
secretary 1975-1977 & 2001-2006) there would have ended the exchange but
the feline proved more helpful, telling Alice she’ll see the Mad Hatter and the
March Hare if she goes in certain directions, implying that no matter which
path she chooses, she’ll encounter strange characters. That she did and the book is one of the most
enjoyable flights of whimsy in English.
The
idiomatic phrase “fork in the road” wasn’t in use early in the seventeenth
century when translators were laboring to create the King James Bible (KJV,
1611) so “…the
king of Babylon so stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways…”
appeared whereas by 1982 when the New King James Version (NKJV, 1982) was
released, that term would have been archaic so the translation was rendered as “…the king of
Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads…”.
Ezekiel
21:19-23; King James Version of the Bible (KJV, 1611):
Also, thou
son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may
come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place,
choose it at the head of the way to the city. Appoint a way, that the sword may
come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced. For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way,
at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows
bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver. At his right hand was
the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the
slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams
against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort. And it shall be unto
them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but
he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.
Ezekiel
21:19-23; New King James Version of the Bible (NKJV, 1982):
And son of
man, appoint for yourself two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to go;
both of them shall go from the same land. Make a sign; put it at the head of
the road to the city. Appoint a road for the sword to go to Rabbah of the
Ammonites, and to Judah, into fortified Jerusalem. For
the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork of the two
roads, to use divination: he shakes the arrows, he consults the images,
he looks at the liver. In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem: to
set up battering rams, to call for a slaughter, to lift the voice with
shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to heap up a siege mound,
and to build a wall. And it will be to them like a false divination in the eyes
of those who have sworn oaths with them; but he will bring their iniquity to
remembrance, that they may be taken.
The KJV
& NKJV closely are related but do in detail differ in the language used,
the objective of the latter being to enhance readability while retaining the stylistic
beauty and literary structure of the original.
Most obviously, the NKJV abandoned the use of archaic words and convention
of grammar (thee, thou, ye, thy, thine, doeth, speaketh etc) which can make it difficult
for modern readers to understand, rather as students can struggle with
Shakespeare’s text, something not helped by lecturers reminding them of its
beauty, a quality which often escapes the young. The NKJV emerged from a reaction to some of
the twentieth century translations which traditionalist readers thought had “descended”
too far into everyday language; it was thus a compromise between greater
readability and a preservation of the original tone. Both the KJV & NKJV primarily used the Textus Receptus (received text) for the
New Testament and Masoretic Text for the Old Testament and this approach
differed from other modern translations (such as the New International Version
(NIV, 1978) & English Standard Version (ESV, which 2001) used a wider
sub-set of manuscripts, including older ones like the Alexandrian texts (Codex
Vaticanus, Sinaiticus et al) So, the NKJV
is more “traditional” than modern translations but not as old-fashioned as the
KJV and helpfully, unlike the KJV which provided hardly any footnotes about
textual variants, the NKJV was generous, showing where differences existed
between the major manuscript traditions (Textus Receptus, Alexandrian &
Byzantine), a welcome layer of transparency but importantly, both used a formal
equivalence (word-for-word) approach which put a premium on direct translation
over paraphrasing, the latter technique much criticized in the later
translations.
Historians
of food note word seems first to have appeared in this context of eating utensils in an inventory of
household goods from 1430 and they suggest, because their influence in culinary
matters was strongest, it was probably from the Old North French forque.
It came to be applied to rivers from 1753 and of roads by 1839. The use in bicycle design began in 1871 and
this was adopted directly within twenty years when the first motorcycles
appeared. The chess move was first so-described
in the 1650s while the old slang, forks "the two forefingers" was
from 1812 and endures to this day as “the fork”. In the world of cryptocurrencies, fork has
been adopted with fetish-like enthusiasm to refer to (1) a split in the blockchain
resulting from protocol disagreements, or (2) a branch of the blockchain
resulting from such a split.
Lindsay Lohan with Tiramisu and cake-fork, Terry Richardson (b 1965) photoshoot, 2012.
The verb dates from the early fourteenth century in the
sense of (1) “to divide in branches, go separate ways" & (2) "disagree,
be inconsistent", both derived from the noun. The transitive meaning "raise or pitch
with a fork" is from 1812, used most frequently in the forms forked & forking
while the slang verb phrase “fork (something) over” is from 1839 while “fork
out” (give over) is from 1831). The now
obsolete legal slang “forking” in the forensic sense of a "disagreement
among witnesses" dates from the turn of the fifteenth century. The noun forkful was an agricultural term
from the 1640s while the specialized fourchette
(in reference to anatomical structures, from French fourchette (diminutive of fourche
(a fork)) was from 1754. The noun pitchfork
(fork for lifting and pitching hay etc.) described the long-used implement
constructed commonly with a long handle and two or three prongs first in the
mid fourteenth century, altered (by the influence of pichen (to throw, thrust), from the early thirteenth century Middle
English pic-forken, from pik (source of pike). The verb use meaning "to lift or throw
with a pitchfork," is noted from 1837.
The spork, an eating utensil which was fashioned by making several long
indents in the bowl to create prongs debuted in 1909.
Der Gableschwanz Teufl: The Lockheed P-38 Lightning (1939-1945). During World War II (1939-1945), the Luftwaffe’s (German air force) military slang for the twin-boomed Lockheed P-38 Lightning was Der Gableschwanz Teufl (the fork-tailed devil).
Novelty nail-art by US
restaurant chain Denny's. The manicure
uses as a base a clean, white coat of lacquer, to which was added miniature
plastic utensils, the index finger a fork, the middle finger a knife, the ring
finger a spoon, and the pinky finger presumably a toothpick or it could be
something more kinky.
The idiomatic “speak with forked tongue” to indicate duplicitous
speech dates from 1885 and was an invention of US English though reputedly
influenced by phases settlers learned in their interactions with first nations
peoples (then called “Red Indians”). The
earlier “double tongue” (a la “two-faced”) in the same sense was from the
fifteenth century. Fork as a clipping of
the already truncated fork-lift (1953) fom the fork-lift truck (1946), appears
to have enter the vernacular circa 1994.
The adjective forked (branched or divided in two parts) was the past-participle
adjective from the verb and came into use early in the fourteenth century. It was applied to roads in the 1520s and more
generally within thirty years while the use in the sixteenth and seventeenth
century with a suggestion of "cuckold" (on the notion of "horned")
is long obsolete. Applied in many contexts (literally & figuratively), inventions (with and without hyphens) include fork-bomb, fork-buffet, fork-dinner, fork-head, rolling-fork, fork-over, fork-off & fork-up (the latter pair euphemistic substitutions for "fuck off" & "fuck-up).
Spork from a flatware set made for Adolf Hitler's
(1889-1945; German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945)
fiftieth birthday, sold at auction in 2018 for £12,500. The items had been discovered in England in a
house once owned by a senior military officer, the assumption being they were
looted in 1945 (“souveniring” in soldier's parlance), the items all bearing the Nazi eagle, swastika
and Hitler's initials. Auction houses can be inconsistent in their descriptions of sporks and in some cases they're listed as splayds, the designs sometimes meaning it's a fine distinction.
1979
Benelli 750 Sei (left) and Benelli factory schematic of the 750 Sei’s fork
(series 2a, right).
One quirk
in the use of the word is the tendency of motorcyclists to refer to the front
fork as “the forks”. Used on almost every
motorcycle made, the fork is an assembly which connects the front axle (and
thus the wheel) to the frame, usually by via a pair (upper & lower) of
yokes; the fork provides both the front suspension (springs or hydraulics) and
makes possible the steering. The reason
the apparatus is often called “the forks” is the two most obvious components
(the left & right) tubes appear to be separate when really they are two
prongs connected at the top. Thus, a
motor cycle manufacturer describes the assembly (made of many components (clamp,
tubes, legs, springs, dampers et al)) “a fork” but, because of the appearance,
riders often think of them as a pair of forks, thus the vernacular “the forks”. English does have other examples of such
apparent aberrations such as a “pair of spectacles” which is sold as a single
item but the origin of eye-glasses was in products sold as separate lens and
users would (according to need) buy one glass (what became the monocle) or a pair
of glasses. That is a different structural
creation than the bra which on the model of a “pair of glasses” would be a “pair
of something” but the word is a clipping of “brassiere”. English borrowed brassiere from the French brassière, from the Old French braciere (which was originally a lining
fitted inside armor which protected the arm, only later becoming a garment),
from the Old French brace (arm)
although by then it described a chemise (a kind of undershirt) but in the US,
brassiere was used from 1893 when the first bras were advertised and from
there, use spread. The three syllables
were just too much to survive the onslaught of modernity and the truncated
“bra” soon prevailed, being the standard form throughout the English-speaking
world by the early 1930s. Curiously, in
French, a bra is a soutien-gorge
which translates literally and rather un-romantically as “throat-supporter”
although “chest uplifter” is a better translation.
2004 Dodge Tomahawk.
There have been variations on the classic
fork and even designs which don’t use a conventional front fork, most of which
have been variations on the “swinging arm” a structure which is either is or
tends towards the horizontal. One of the
most memorable to use swinging arms was the 2004 Dodge Tomahawk, a “motorcycle”
constructed around a 506 cubic inch (8.3 litre) version of the V10s used in the
Dodge Viper (1991-2010 & 2013-2017) and the concept demonstrated what
imaginative engineers can do if given time, money, resources and a
disconnection from reality, Designing a 500
HP (370 kW) motorcycle obviously takes some thought so what they did to
equalize things a bit in what would otherwise be an unequal battle with physics
was use four independently sprung wheels which allowed the machine to corner with
a lean (up to 45o said to be possible) although no photographs seem
to exist of an intrepid rider putting this projection to the test. Rather than a fork, swinging arms were used
and while this presumably enhanced high-speed stability, it also meant the
turning circle was something like that of one of the smaller aircraft carriers. There were suggestions a top speed of some 420
mph (675 km/h) was at least theoretically possible although a sense of reality
did briefly intrude and this was later revised to 250 mph (400 km/h). In the Dodge design office, presumably it was thought safe to speculate
because of the improbability of finding anyone both sufficient competent and
crazy enough to explore the limits; one would plenty of either but the characteristics rarely co-exist.
Remarkably, as many as ten replicas were sold at a reputed US$555,000
and although (mindful of the country’s litigious habits) all were non-operative
and described as “art deco inspired automotive sculpture” to be admired as
static displays, some apparently have been converted to full functionality
although there have been no reports of top speed testing.
Britney Spears (b 1981): "Video clip with fork feature", Instagram, 11 May 2025.
Unfortunately, quickly Ms Spears deleted the more revealing version of the clip but for those pondering
the messaging, Spearologists (a thoughtful crew devoted to their discipline)
deconstructed the content, noting it came some days after she revealed it had
been four months she’d left her house.
The silky, strapless dress and sweat-soaked, convulsing flesh were (by
her standards) uncontroversial but what may have mystified non-devotees was the fork
she at times held in her grasp.
Apparently, the fork was an allusion to her earlier quote: “Shit! Now I have to find my FORK!!!”, made
during what was reported as a “manic meltdown” (itself interesting in that it at least suggests the existence of “non-manic” meltdowns) at a restaurant, following
the abrupt departure of her former husband (2022-2024) Hesam "Sam"
Asghari (b 1994). The link between restaurant
and video clip was reports Mr Asghari was soon to be interviewed and there would
be questions about the marriage. One of her earlier posts had included a fork stabbing a lipstick (forks smeared with lipstick a trick also used in Halloween costuming to emulate facial scratches) and the utensil in the clip was said to be “a symbol of her frustration and emotional state.” Now we know.
Großadmiral
(Grand Admiral, equivalent to an admiral of the fleet (Royal Navy) or five star
admiral (US Navy) Alfred von Tirpitz (1849–1930; State Secretary of the German
Imperial Naval Office 1897-1916).
He's
remembered now for (1) his role in building up the Imperial German Navy, triggering events
which would play some part in the coming of World War I (1914-1918) and (2) being
the namesake for the Bismarck class battleship Tirpitz (1939-1944) which although it hardly
ever took to the high seas and fired barely a shot in anger, merely by being
moored in Norwegian fjords, it compelled the British Admiralty to watch it with
a mix of awe and dread, necessitating keeping in home waters a number of
warships badly needed elsewhere. He’s remembered also for (3) his distinctive twin-forked beard and such was the threat his namesake battleship represented, just the mistaken belief she was steaming into
the path of a convoy (PQ 17, June 1942) of merchant ships bound for the Russian port of Archangel caused the Admiralty to issue a “scatter order” (ie disperse the convoy from the escorting warships), resulting in heavy losses.
After a number of attempts, in 1944, she
was finally sunk in a raid by Royal Air Force (RAF) bombers although, because some of the capsized hull remained visible above the surface, some wags in the navy insisted the air force had not "sunk the beast" but merely "lowered her to the waterline". It wasn't until after the war the British learned the RAF's successful mission, strategically, had been unnecessary, earlier attacks (including the Admiralty's using mines placed by crews in midget submarines) having inflicted so much damage there was by 1944 no prospect of the Tirpitz again venturing far from its moorings.
