-fold

See also fold, and föld

English

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old English -feald (“-fold”), from Proto-Germanic *-falþaz (“-fold”), from Proto-Indo-European *-poltos (“-fold”). Cognate with Dutch -voud, German -falt, Swedish -faldig (“-fold”), Latin -plus, -plex, Ancient Greek -παλτος, -πλος (-paltos, -plos). More at fold.

Pronunciation

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Suffix

-fold

1. Used to make adjectives meaning times.

   There has been a threefold increase in inflation ( = inflation is three times what it was before)

2. Used to make adverbs meaning times.

   Inflation has increased threefold ( = inflation is three times what it was before)

Related terms

Note: -fold can be combined with the word for any positive integer. The words listed below are some of the most common combinations. These words are not hyphenated.

• twofold
• threefold
• fourfold
• fivefold
• sixfold
• sevenfold
• eightfold
• ninefold
• tenfold
• elevenfold
• twelvefold
• twentyfold
• thirtyfold
• fortyfold
• fiftyfold
• sixtyfold
• seventyfold
• eightyfold
• ninetyfold
• hundredfold
• thousandfold
• millionfold
• manifold

Translations

used to make adjectives

Dutch: -voudig (nl) French: fois (as a separate word: see example) a threefold increase - un accroissement de trois fois German: -fach (de), -fache (de) f. pl.

Italian: volte (as a separate word: see example) a threefold increase - un aumento di tre volte Russian: -кратный (ru) Swedish: -faldig (sv)

used to make adverbs

Dutch: -voudig (nl) French: fois (as a separate word: see example) to increase threefold - accroitre trois fois German: -fach (de), -faltig (de)

Italian: volte (as a separate word: see example) to increase threefold - aumentare tre volte Swedish: -faldigt (sv), -falt (sv)

Usage notes

Some writers and speakers use misconstructions like "an increase by twofold," which they believe to mean the same thing as "a twofold increase." But these two things logically mean "an increase by 200% of the original amount" and "an increase to 200% of the original amount," respectively. This practice is not only ambiguous but grammatically poor; it misuses -fold by using it as a noun. -Fold takes no preposition.