perl -MNet::Dict -le"print qq,@{$_},  for @{ Net::Dict->new('dict.org')->define('fork')}"
web1913 Bracket \Brack"et\, n. (Gunnery)
   A figure determined by firing a projectile beyond a target
   and another short of it, as a basis for ascertaining the
   proper elevation of the piece; -- only used in the phrase, to
   establish a bracket. After the bracket is established shots
   are fired with intermediate elevations until the exact range
   is obtained. In the United States navy it is called {fork}.

web1913 Fork \Fork\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Forked}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Forking}.]
   1. To shoot into blades, as corn.

            The corn beginneth to fork.           --Mortimer.

   2. To divide into two or more branches; as, a road, a tree,
      or a stream forks.

web1913 Fork \Fork\, v. t.
   To raise, or pitch with a fork, as hay; to dig or turn over
   with a fork, as the soil.

         Forking the sheaves on the high-laden cart. --Prof.
                                                  Wilson.

   {To fork} {over or out}, to hand or pay over, as money.
      [Slang] --G. Eliot.

web1913 Fork \Fork\ (f[^o]rj), n. [AS. forc, fr. L. furca. Cf.
   {Fourch['e]}, {Furcate}.]
   1. An instrument consisting of a handle with a shank
      terminating in two or more prongs or tines, which are
      usually of metal, parallel and slightly curved; -- used
      from piercing, holding, taking up, or pitching anything.

   2. Anything furcate or like a fork in shape, or furcate at
      the extremity; as, a tuning fork.

   3. 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.

            Let it fall . . . though the fork invade The region
            of my heart.                          --Shak.

            A thunderbolt with three forks.       --Addison.

   4. The place where a division or a union occurs; the angle or
      opening between two branches or limbs; as, the fork of a
      river, a tree, or a road.

   5. The gibbet. [Obs.] --Bp. Butler.

   {Fork beam} (Shipbuilding), a half beam to support a deck,
      where hatchways occur.

   {Fork chuck} (Wood Turning), a lathe center having two prongs
      for driving the work.

   {Fork head}.
      (a) The barbed head of an arrow.
      (b) The forked end of a rod which forms part of a knuckle
          joint.

   {In fork}. (Mining) A mine is said to be in fork, or an
      engine to ``have the water in fork,'' when all the water
      is drawn out of the mine. --Ure.

   {The forks of a river} or {a road}, the branches into which
      it divides, or which come together to form it; the place
      where separation or union takes place.

wn fork
     n 1: fork used for serving and eating
     2: the act of branching out or dividing into branches [syn: {branching},
         {ramification}, {forking}]
     3: a part of a forked or branching shape; "he broke off one of
        the branches"; "they took the south fork" [syn: {branch},
        {leg}]
     4: an agricultural tool used for lifting or digging; has a
        handle and metal prongs
     5: the angle formed by the inner sides of the legs where they
        join the human trunk [syn: {crotch}]
     v 1: lift with a pitchfork; "pitchfork hay" [syn: {pitchfork}]
     2: place under attack with one's own pieces, of two enemy chess
        pieces
     3: divide into two or more branches; "The road forks" [syn: {branch},
         {ramify}, {separate}]
     4: shape like a fork: "She forked her fingers"

gazetteer Fork, MD
  Zip code(s): 21051
Fork, SC
  Zip code(s): 29543

jargon fork In the open-source community, a fork is what occurs when
two (or more) versions of a software package's source code are being
developed in parallel which once shared a common code base, and these
multiple versions of the source code have irreconcilable differences
between them.  This should not be confused with a development branch,
which may later be folded back into the original source code base.
Nor should it be confused with what happens when a new distribution
of Linux or some other distribution is created, because that largely
assembles pieces than can and will be used in other distributions
without conflict.

   Forking is uncommon; in fact, it is so uncommon that individual
instances loom large in hacker folklore.  Notable in this class were the
http://www.xemacs.org/About/XEmacsVsGNUemacs.html (Emacs/XEmacs fork),
the GCC/EGCS fork (later healed by a merger) and the forks among the
FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD operating systems.



foldoc fork

   <operating system> A {Unix} {system call} used by a {process}
   (the "parent") to make a copy (the "child") of itself.  The
   child process is identical to the parent except it has a
   different {process identifier} and a zero return value from
   the fork call.  It is assumed to have used no resources.

   A fork followed by an {exec} can be used to start a different
   process but this can be inefficient and some later Unix
   variants provide {vfork} as an alternative mechanism for this.

   See also {fork bomb}.

   (1996-12-08)



devils FORK, n.  An instrument used chiefly for the purpose of putting dead
animals into the mouth.  Formerly the knife was employed for this
purpose, and by many worthy persons is still thought to have many
advantages over the other tool, which, however, they do not altogether
reject, but use to assist in charging the knife.  The immunity of
these persons from swift and awful death is one of the most striking
proofs of God's mercy to those that hate Him.