| adage |
an old familiar saying that expresses folk wisdom; proverb. |
| banshee |
a female spirit in Irish folk stories. Banshees wail to predict someone's death. |
| blues |
(used with a singular or plural verb) a style of sad-sounding music with roots in African American folk music. Jazz and rock music developed from the blues. [1/2 definitions] |
| boneset |
any of various plants of eastern North America that bear broad, flat clusters of small white flowers, used in folk medicine for their supposed healing qualities; thoroughwort. |
| cimbalom |
a large dulcimer, usu. mounted on legs, that is played esp. by Hungarian folk musicians. |
| classical |
having to do with the complex music of the European tradition that is neither folk nor popular music. [1/2 definitions] |
| contra dance |
a folk dance, similar to the quadrille, in which dancers often form lines and face each other. [1/2 definitions] |
| country-dance |
an English folk dance characterized by dancers forming two lines facing each other. |
| country music |
popular music that comes from the folk music of the southern or southwestern United States. It generally employs a variety of stringed instruments such as guitar and fiddle. |
| country-western |
popular music that comes from the folk music of the southern or southwestern United States. It generally employs vocals and a variety of stringed instruments such as guitar and fiddle; country and western; country music. [1/2 definitions] |
| cumbia |
a Colombian folk dance, variations of which are popular in Mexico, Argentina, and other Latin-American countries. |
| down-home |
of, resembling, or characteristic of the qualities associated with rural folk or family, such as hospitality, simplicity, and warmth. |
| dulcimer |
a musical instrument with three or four strings stretched over a long oval soundbox, used esp. by American folk musicians. [1/2 definitions] |
| folk dance |
a dance or type of dance originated, performed, and handed down by the common folk of a region or country. [1/2 definitions] |
| folk music |
music originated, handed down, and played or sung by the common folk of a region or country, often fairly simple and repetitive in structure. [1/2 definitions] |
| folk-rock |
popular music that combines characteristic elements of folk music and rock-'n'-roll, often using lyrics similar to the former, with rhythm from the latter, as in songs of social protest. |
| folk singer |
a singer of folk songs. |
| folk song |
a piece of folk music meant for singing. |
| goldilocks |
(used with a sing. verb) (cap.) in a European folk tale, a young girl with blond hair who visits the house of three bears. [1/3 definitions] |
| gospel |
a type of heartfelt and often highly rhythmic music sung in a Christian religious service. Gospel originated in America and developed out of various traditions of folk music as well as blues. [1/4 definitions] |
| Highland fling |
a vigorous folk dance of the Scottish Highlands. |