'folk-style' is a compound formed from 'folk' and 'style'. 'folk' originates from Old English 'folc', where 'folc' meant 'people, nation'. 'style' originates ultimately from Latin 'stilus' (via Old French 'estile' and Middle English 'style'), where the Latin root referred to a writing instrument and then a manner or mode of expression.

'folk' changed from Old English 'folc' to Middle English 'folk' (or 'folke') and retained the sense of 'people' or 'common people'. 'style' passed from Latin 'stilus' into Old French as 'estile' and into Middle English as 'style', shifting from a literal 'writing tool' to 'manner, mode, fashion'. The compound 'folk-style' developed in modern English by combining these elements to denote a manner associated with the folk or traditional popular forms.

Initially the components referred separately to 'people' ('folk') and 'manner or mode' ('style'); over time the compound came to mean specifically a manner, design, or musical approach that imitates or is derived from vernacular/traditional folk forms.