Wookie
Senior Member
Korea, Korean
- Dec 25, 2007
- #1
Porsche, he said, needed to bring Volkswagen into the fold to ensure that others do not get their hands on it.
I couldn't find that idiom in dictionaries.
What does "bring into the fold" mean?
S
surikata
Senior Member
4000 holes in Blackburn, Lancs
London(BBC)English
- Dec 25, 2007
- #2
Hello, Think of `fold` as being an enclosed area, e.g the place where a sheppard would keep his sheep. Therefore to bring Volkwagen into the fold would be mean` to keep Volkwagen safe from preditors`.
T
Thomas Tompion
Member Emeritus
Southern England
English - England
- Dec 25, 2007
- #3
Porche shares technology research with VW, and fears that VW might be broken up have, amongst other things, led to all the takeover talk. By taking over VW it would keep it, like a sheep in a sheepfold, safe from the predators, wolves, who might want to buy it and break it up.
Packard
Senior Member
USA, English
- Dec 25, 2007
- #4
One of the definitions of "fold" is "church". So a clergyman might welcome new members into the "fold".
I think that the usage here is is an extension of the "fold = church" usage.
S
Salvage
Senior Member
Columbus, Ohio
USA English
- Dec 25, 2007
- #5
"Into the fold" can also mean to bring someone around to the same philosophy, belief, or value system so that they will not be a problem either through ignorance, unpredictability, or outright opposition. Becoming one of the herd.
T
Thomas Tompion
Member Emeritus
Southern England
English - England
- Dec 25, 2007
- #6
Doesn't the use of the church as a fold derive from an extended image of Christ as the good shepherd and the extended sheep-keeping metaphor he used, and/or the priest as pastor. In other words, isn't it derived figuratively from the sheep-pen, rather than being an independent or primary meaning?
Thomas1
Senior Member
polszczyzna warszawska
- Dec 25, 2007
- #7
Thomas Tompion said:
Doesn't the use of the church as a fold derive from an extended image of Christ as the good shepherd and the extended sheep-keeping metaphor he used, and/or the priest as pastor. In other words, isn't it derived figuratively from the sheep-pen, rather than being an independent or primary meaning?
It seems so, the Online Etymology Dictionary doesn't list a separate entry for fold meaning church, moreover it is listed in the same entry in dictionaries as the enclosure for sheep, what makes it almost sure the origin is the same. I think that the fold began to mean church as you described, Thomas.
fold (n.) "pen or enclosure for sheep or other domestic animals," O.E. falæd, falud, a Gmc. word (cf. E.Fris. folt "enclosure, dunghill," Dan. fold "pen for sheep"), of uncertain origin. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=fold&searchmode=none
Tom
followthewhiterabbit
New Member
Dutch
- Feb 25, 2022
- #8
Merriam-Webster:
a group of people or institutions that share a common faith, belief, activity, or enthusiasm
"His former colleagues would be glad to welcome him back into the fold."
Oxford/Lexico:
a group or community, especially when perceived as having shared aims and values
"government whips tried to persuade the waverers back into the fold"
another example sentence:
"There's a universality to these moments in the year and I think that's a good way to sort of bring the genre into that fold."
(from the documentary In Search of Darkness, 2019)
PS: predator*, Porsche*
Packard
Senior Member
USA, English
- Feb 25, 2022
- #9
The archaic meaning of “fold” was a staked off grazing ground for sheep. So “bring into the fold” could have derived from driving an errant sheep in with the rest of the flock. Sheep herding in general seems to be a metaphor for religious groups.
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