Learn English – What do folded hands look like

phrase-meaningword-meaning

I search on Google images for "folded hands", and it gives me pictures like this:

enter image description here

and this:

enter image description here

which I have no problem with.

However, it also gives a lot of pictures like this one:

enter image description here

which I don't understand why should be called folded.
Do people really call this position of the hands 'folded'? And can I ask why?

Best Answer

They may not be folded in the literal sense of the word, but they are called folded by some people:

fold your hands:
to bring or hold your hands together
- She kept her hands folded in her lap.

As to why, I can guess, but I'm not sure.

However, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English and Oxford Learner's Dictionaries (AmE) give more specific definitions, which may not match the last image.

fold your hands:

put them together and rest them on something

(from Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

to bring or hold your hands together with the fingers bent

(from Oxford Learner's Dictionaries (AmE))

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