folk tale

or folk·tale

[ fohk-teyl ]
See synonyms for: folk%20talefolk%20tales on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a tale or legend originating and traditional among a people or folk, especially one forming part of the oral tradition of the common people.

  2. any belief or story passed on traditionally, especially one considered to be false or based on superstition.

Origin of folk tale

1
First recorded in 1890–95
  • Also called folk sto·ry [fohk-stawr-ee] /ˈfoʊk ˌstɔr i/ .

Words Nearby folk tale

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use folk tale in a sentence

  • The hero of an Egyptian folk tale slays a "deathless snake" by cutting it in two parts and putting sand between the parts.

    Myths of Babylonia and Assyria | Donald A. Mackenzie
  • A modern folk-tale from Cashmere tells of a Brahmin who prayed to know something of the state of the departed.

    The Science of Fairy Tales | Edwin Sidney Hartland
  • Or are all you Mentorians so gutless that you believe any half-baked folk tale the Lhari pass off on you?

    The Colors of Space | Marion Zimmer Bradley

British Dictionary definitions for folk tale

folk tale

noun
  1. a tale or legend originating among a people and typically becoming part of an oral tradition

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012