diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index deafb52..dc3821d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -221,6 +221,20 @@ form prefixes the century outside the checksummed core:
 A function must be deterministic in the seeded rng (no wall-clock), so a seeded
 faker stays reproducible.
 
+**References.** A `{..path}` token renders a node from the **data root** instead
+of a sibling field — the dot path is the one `Fake` takes, resolved across every
+loaded directory. One category can borrow another, even across folders or layered
+data dirs:
+
+```json
+{ "format": "Hej, {..en_US.person}!" }
+```
+
+renders e.g. `Hej, Pat Smith!`. References are bound when you create the faker, so
+a path that is unknown, names a folder, or steps through a multi-variant choice
+fails at `New`. A reference must not lead back to its own value (directly or
+through a chain), or rendering won't terminate.
+
 **Format string.** Every character is literal except:
 
 | Token | Expands to |
@@ -232,8 +246,10 @@ faker stays reproducible.
 | `#` | escape — the next char is literal (`#0` → `0`, `##` → `#`) |
 | `{name}` | render the sibling field `name` |
 | `{name()}` | call a built-in function (see **Functions**) |
+| `{..path}` | render the node at a dot path from the data root (see **References**) |
 
-`{a|b}` renders one of the sibling fields `a` or `b`, chosen at random.
+`{a|b}` renders one of the sibling fields `a` or `b`, chosen at random; an arm
+may be a `{..path}` reference too (`{name|..en_US.person}`).
 
 **Putting it together** (`person.json`):
 
diff --git a/data.go b/data.go
index be1bcaa..302c8af 100644
--- a/data.go
+++ b/data.go
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@ import (
 // a node keyed by its base name (address.json -> "address"); each subdirectory
 // becomes a nested group, so folders turn into dot-path segments. Paths are
 // merged left to right: matching groups merge by their children, and any other
-// clash (a leaf, or a leaf-vs-group) is won by the last directory loaded.
+// clash (a leaf, or a leaf-vs-group) is won by the last directory loaded. Once
+// merged, linkRefs binds every {..path} reference against the final tree.
 func loadData(paths []string) (map[string]node, error) {
 	root := map[string]node{}
 	for _, p := range paths {
@@ -26,6 +27,9 @@ func loadData(paths []string) (map[string]node, error) {
 	if len(root) == 0 {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("no .json data found in %v", paths)
 	}
+	if err := linkRefs(root); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
 	return root, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/reference_test.go b/reference_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ddda49b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/reference_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+package fakes
+
+import "testing"
+
+// TestRootReferenceAcrossFolders is the headline case: a category in one folder
+// pulls a value from another via a {..path} reference resolved from the data root.
+func TestRootReferenceAcrossFolders(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := writeData(t, map[string]string{
+		"en_US/person":   `["Pat Smith"]`,
+		"sv_SE/greeting": `{"format":"Hej, {..en_US.person}!"}`,
+	})
+	f := newFakes(t, dir, WithSeed(1))
+	if got := fake(t, f, "sv_SE.greeting"); got != "Hej, Pat Smith!" {
+		t.Fatalf("greeting = %q, want \"Hej, Pat Smith!\"", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestReferenceIntoAField reaches a field inside a referenced category, crossing
+// a single-variant choice and then a template field (..who.last).
+func TestReferenceIntoAField(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := writeData(t, map[string]string{
+		"who":  `[{"format":"{first} {last}","first":["Ada"],"last":["Byron"]}]`,
+		"card": `{"format":"signed {..who.last}"}`,
+	})
+	f := newFakes(t, dir, WithSeed(1))
+	if got := fake(t, f, "card"); got != "signed Byron" {
+		t.Fatalf("card = %q, want \"signed Byron\"", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestReferenceInAlternation lets a reference stand as one arm of a {a|..b}
+// alternation, so a field and a cross-file value share one slot.
+func TestReferenceInAlternation(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := writeData(t, map[string]string{
+		"far":  `["X"]`,
+		"near": `{"format":"{here|..far}","here":["H"]}`,
+	})
+	f := newFakes(t, dir, WithSeed(2))
+	seen := map[string]bool{}
+	for i := 0; i < 100; i++ {
+		seen[fake(t, f, "near")] = true
+	}
+	if !seen["H"] || !seen["X"] || len(seen) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("alternation produced %v, want both H and X", seen)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestReferenceCombinesLoadedPaths is the point of references over the merge
+// model: data layered from two dirs can point at each other through the root.
+func TestReferenceCombinesLoadedPaths(t *testing.T) {
+	a := writeData(t, map[string]string{"en_US/word": `["river"]`})
+	b := writeData(t, map[string]string{"mine/slug": `{"format":"the-{..en_US.word}"}`})
+	f := newFakesN(t, []string{a, b}, WithSeed(1))
+	if got := fake(t, f, "mine.slug"); got != "the-river" {
+		t.Fatalf("slug = %q, want the-river", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestReferenceChain follows a reference to a node that is itself a reference, so
+// linking order cannot matter.
+func TestReferenceChain(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := writeData(t, map[string]string{
+		"a": `{"format":"{..b}"}`,
+		"b": `{"format":"{..c}"}`,
+		"c": `["deep"]`,
+	})
+	f := newFakes(t, dir, WithSeed(1))
+	if got := fake(t, f, "a"); got != "deep" {
+		t.Fatalf("a = %q, want deep", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestReferenceErrors lists the references New must reject up front, so a bad path
+// fails at load, never at a random render.
+func TestReferenceErrors(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := map[string]map[string]string{
+		"missing target": {"card": `{"format":"{..nope.gone}"}`},
+		"folder target":  {"en_US/word": `["w"]`, "card": `{"format":"{..en_US}"}`},
+		"multi-variant on the path": {
+			"who":  `[{"format":"{f}","f":["1"]},{"format":"{f}","f":["2"]}]`,
+			"card": `{"format":"{..who.f}"}`,
+		},
+		"empty reference path": {"card": `{"format":"{..}"}`},
+	}
+	for name, files := range cases {
+		if _, err := New([]string{writeData(t, files)}); err == nil {
+			t.Errorf("%s: New = nil error, want a reference error", name)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/template.go b/template.go
index 034da1a..7491fbf 100644
--- a/template.go
+++ b/template.go
@@ -175,8 +175,9 @@ func expand(r rng, format string, fields map[string]node) string {
 	return b.String()
 }
 
-// resolve renders a "{token}" body: one or more field names separated by '|',
-// of which one is chosen at random. checkTokens guarantees every name exists.
+// resolve renders a "{token}" body: one or more names separated by '|', one
+// picked at random. A name is a sibling field or a {..path} reference, which
+// linkRefs bound into fields too; checkTokens and linkRefs guarantee both exist.
 func resolve(r rng, token string, fields map[string]node) string {
 	names := strings.Split(token, "|")
 	return render(r, fields[names[r.IntN(len(names))]])
@@ -366,6 +367,12 @@ func checkTokens(format string, fields map[string]node) error {
 				}
 			} else {
 				for _, name := range strings.Split(body, "|") {
+					if isRef(name) {
+						if name == refPrefix {
+							return fmt.Errorf("token {%s}: reference has no path", body)
+						}
+						continue // a root reference; its target is checked at New (see linkRefs)
+					}
 					if _, ok := fields[name]; !ok {
 						return fmt.Errorf("token {%s}: no field %q", body, name)
 					}
@@ -377,6 +384,131 @@ func checkTokens(format string, fields map[string]node) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// refPrefix marks a {..path} token: a reference to a node elsewhere in the data
+// root rather than a sibling field. The path after it is the same dot path Fake
+// takes, resolved across every loaded directory (see linkRefs).
+const refPrefix = ".."
+
+func isRef(name string) bool { return strings.HasPrefix(name, refPrefix) }
+
+// linkRefs resolves every {..path} reference in the assembled tree, binding the
+// target node into the referring template's fields under the token's key so the
+// ordinary resolver renders it like a sibling. It runs once, after all data is
+// merged, so a reference sees the final (override-resolved) tree. A path that is
+// unknown, names a folder, or steps through a multi-variant choice fails here,
+// keeping a bad reference a New-time error, never a random render-time one. The
+// seen set both skips shared nodes and stops a cyclic reference looping the walk.
+func linkRefs(root map[string]node) error {
+	seen := map[node]bool{}
+	var visit func(node) error
+	visit = func(n node) error {
+		if n == nil || seen[n] {
+			return nil
+		}
+		seen[n] = true
+		switch n := n.(type) {
+		case *group:
+			for _, c := range n.children {
+				if err := visit(c); err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+			}
+		case *choice:
+			for _, it := range n.items {
+				if err := visit(it); err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+			}
+		case *template:
+			for _, name := range refTokens(n.format) {
+				target, err := lookup(root, strings.Split(name[len(refPrefix):], "."))
+				if err != nil {
+					return fmt.Errorf("reference {%s}: %w", name, err)
+				}
+				n.fields[name] = target
+			}
+			for _, c := range n.fields {
+				if err := visit(c); err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		return nil
+	}
+	for _, c := range root {
+		if err := visit(c); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// lookup finds the single node a reference path names, walking groups and
+// template fields by segment and descending a single-variant choice as a
+// transparent wrapper. A missing segment, a folder target, or a step through a
+// multi-variant choice (which has no one value to bind) is an error.
+func lookup(root map[string]node, segments []string) (node, error) {
+	var n node = &group{children: root}
+	for i := 0; i < len(segments); i++ {
+		switch c := n.(type) {
+		case *group:
+			child, ok := c.children[segments[i]]
+			if !ok {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("no entry %q", segments[i])
+			}
+			n = child
+		case *template:
+			child, ok := c.fields[segments[i]]
+			if !ok {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("no field %q", segments[i])
+			}
+			n = child
+		case *choice:
+			if len(c.items) != 1 {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("%q steps through a %d-way choice", segments[i], len(c.items))
+			}
+			n, i = c.items[0], i-1 // a choice consumes no segment; reprocess it unwrapped
+		default:
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot descend into %T at %q", n, segments[i])
+		}
+	}
+	if _, ok := n.(*group); ok {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("names a folder, not a value")
+	}
+	return n, nil
+}
+
+// refTokens returns the reference names ({..path}, including ones inside a
+// {a|..path} alternation) used in a format string, scanning braces the way
+// expand does. Function tokens carry no references.
+func refTokens(format string) []string {
+	var refs []string
+	rs := []rune(format)
+	for i := 0; i < len(rs); i++ {
+		switch rs[i] {
+		case '#':
+			i++
+		case '{':
+			end := i + 1
+			for end < len(rs) && rs[end] != '}' {
+				end++
+			}
+			if end >= len(rs) {
+				return refs // checkTokens already rejected the unterminated brace
+			}
+			if body := string(rs[i+1 : end]); strings.IndexByte(body, '(') < 0 {
+				for _, name := range strings.Split(body, "|") {
+					if isRef(name) {
+						refs = append(refs, name)
+					}
+				}
+			}
+			i = end
+		}
+	}
+	return refs
+}
+
 // repeatOf reads a template's "repeat" (default 1): how many times its format
 // is rendered and concatenated. A present one must be a positive integer.
 func repeatOf(m map[string]any) (int, error) {