fork vs pitchfork what difference

what is difference between fork and pitchfork

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fɔːk/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /fɔɹk/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)k

Etymology 1

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. 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”).

Noun

fork (plural forks)

1. A pronged tool having a long straight handle, used for digging, lifting, throwing etc.

   Synonym: pitchfork

2. A pronged tool for use in the garden; a smaller hand fork for weeding etc., or larger for turning over the soil.
3. (obsolete) A gallows.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Bishop Joseph Butler to this entry?)

4. A utensil with spikes used to put solid food into the mouth, or to hold food down while cutting.
5. A tuning fork.
6. An intersection in a road or path where one road is split into two.
7. 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.

   • a thunderbolt with three forks.

8. A point where a waterway, such as a river, splits and goes two (or more) different directions.
9. (figuratively) A point in time where one has to make a decision between two life paths.
10. (chess) The simultaneous attack of two adversary pieces with one single attacking piece (especially a knight).
12. (computer science) A splitting-up of an existing process into itself and a child process executing parts of the same program.
13. (software) The splitting of a software development effort into two or more separate projects, especially in free and open-source software.
14. (software) Any of the software projects resulting from such a split.

15. (cryptocurrencies, by extension) A split in a blockchain resulting from protocol disagreements, or a branch of the blockchain resulting from such a split.

    Hyponyms: hard fork, soft fork

16. (Britain) The crotch. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
17. (colloquial) A forklift.

18. The set of blades of a forklift, on which the goods to be raised are loaded.
19. (cycling, motorcycling) 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.

20. The upper front brow of a saddle bow, connected in the tree by the two saddle bars to the cantle on the other end.

    Synonyms: swell, pommel

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

• denture
• trident, a three-pronged spear somewhat resembling a pitchfork

Descendants

• Sranan Tongo: forku
• → Dutch: fork
• → Japanese: フォーク (fōku)
• → Kannada: ಫೋರ್ಕ್ (phōrk)
• → Korean: 포크 (pokeu)
• → Maori: paoka
• → Tamil: போர்க் (pōrk)
• → Telugu: ఫోర్క్ (phōrk)

Translations

Verb

fork (third-person singular simple present forks, present participle forking, simple past and past participle forked)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To divide into two or more branches.

2. (transitive) To move with a fork (as hay or food).
   • 1844, John Wilson, Essay on the Genius, and Character of Burns

     forking the sheaves on the high-laden cart

3. (computer science) To spawn a new child process in some sense duplicating the existing process.
4. (computer science) To split a (software) project into several projects.
5. (computer science) To split a (software) distributed version control repository
6. (Britain) To kick someone in the crotch.
7. To shoot into blades, as corn does.

   • I have known them couched up a Yard thick cover’d with an Hair-cloth and ſtirred only once a day, the Maltſer being always careful to throw the frozen outſides into the middle till the Corn begin to fork and warm in the Couch; after which time if it be not laid too thin, it will not eaſily freeze.

8. Euphemistic form of fuck.

Derived terms

• (computer science: spawn a new child process): fork bomb
• fork off
• fork out
• fork over

Translations

See also

• knife
• spoon

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• forcque

Noun

fork (plural forks)

1. (mining) The bottom of a sump into which the water of a mine drains.

Verb

fork (third-person singular simple present forks, present participle forking, simple past and past participle forked)

1. (mining, transitive) To bale a shaft dry.

Further reading

• fork on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Korf

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse forkr (“boathook”), from Latin furca (“fork, pitchfork”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔrk/, [fɒːɡ̊]

Noun

fork c (singular definite forken, plural indefinite forke)

1. (two-pronged) fork, pitchfork

Inflection

Dutch

Etymology

From English fork in the computer science sense. Doublet of vork (“fork”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔrk/

Noun

fork f (plural forks, diminutive forkje n)

1. (computer science) A fork, splitting-up of an existing process into itself and a child process executing parts of the same program.

Synonyms

• afsplitsing

Anagrams

• korf

Middle English

Noun

fork

1. Alternative form of forke

English

Etymology

From Middle English pichfork, pycchefork, pychforke, pikeforke, pikkforke, pic-forcke, equivalent to pitch +‎ fork.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɪtʃˌfɔɹk/

Noun

pitchfork (plural pitchforks)

1. An agricultural tool comprising a fork attached to a long handle used for pitching hay or bales of hay high up onto a haystack.
2. (rare) A tuning fork.
   • 1988, Tony Trischka, Pete Wernick, Masters of the 5-String Banjo: In Their Own Words and Music (page 400)

     I went around with a pitchfork [tuning fork] in my pocket, and I’d hit it whenever I thought of it, and I developed perfect pitch […]

Derived terms

• pitchforkful
• rain pitchforks

Coordinate terms

• digging fork

Translations

Verb

pitchfork (third-person singular simple present pitchforks, present participle pitchforking, simple past and past participle pitchforked)

1. (transitive) To toss or carry with a pitchfork.

2. (transitive, figuratively) To throw suddenly.
   • 1925, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, The Parliamentary Debates, Official Report

     We have taken an age-old country, and we have suddenly, in 30 years, pitchforked it into the middle of the factory system.

Further reading

• pitchfork on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

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