Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.

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.

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.

Source : WordNet®

fork
     v 1: lift with a pitchfork; "pitchfork hay" [syn: {pitchfork}]
     2: place under attack with one's own pieces, of two enemy
        pieces
     3: divide into two or more branches so as to form a fork; "The
        road forks" [syn: {branch}, {ramify}, {furcate}, {separate}]
     4: shape like a fork; "She forked her fingers"

fork
     n 1: cutlery used for serving and eating food
     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}, {ramification}]
     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}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

fork
     
         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)