'upfold' originates from English, formed from the prefix 'up-' + the verb 'fold' (Old English 'fealdan' / 'foldian'), where 'up-' meant 'toward a higher position' and 'fold' meant 'to bend, to fold.'

'upfold' developed as a compound of Old English 'up' + 'fealdan' (to fold). In Middle English it appeared in forms like 'upfolden' or 'upfold,' and eventually gave the modern English verb 'upfold' and its past/p.p. 'upfolded.'

Initially, it meant 'to fold upward or back,' and that core meaning has largely remained the same, though the word is now rare and more commonly expressed as 'fold up.'