folklore

[fohk-lawr, -lohr]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR folklore ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the traditional beliefs, legends, customs, etc., of a people; lore of a people.

the study of such lore.

a body of widely held but false or unsubstantiated beliefs.

Nearby words

Origin of folklore

1846; folk + lore¹; coined by English scholar and antiquary William John Thoms (1803–85)

Related formsfolk·lor·ist, nounfolk·lor·is·tic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for folklore

“British folklore has this very inextricable link to nature and the elements,” he told The Daily Beast.
Gareth Pugh's Fashion Show Lacked Fashion, But Not Passion|Justin Jones|September 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The tomb-raiders are more terrified of the folklore spirits than they are of authorities that might catch them, he added.
Egyptian Tomb-Robbing Market Explodes on eBay|Bel Trew|May 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“That became part of the folklore of the World Trade Center,” the cop noted.
Hero or Criminal? James Brady, the WTC Ironworker Who Jumped Off the Building|Michael Daly|March 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yes, as a figure, “Santa Claus” has his roots in early Christian Europe, Dutch folklore, and Germanic paganism.
Yes, Megyn Kelly, Santa Can Be Black (and Jesus, Too)|Jamelle Bouie|December 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The Japan Times on March 6, 2010, reported that in folklore the fish comes to the beach as an omen of an earthquake.
Fishy Mystery: Are Beached Oarfish Trying to Tell Us Something?|Kevin Bailey|October 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
St. Brita has taken a strong hold on popular imagination in Sweden and figures largely in the folklore of the land.
Capitals of the Northlands|Ian C. Hannah
Let us now examine the writings of the great authorities on folklore and see what they have to say upon this interesting subject.
An Introduction to Mythology|Lewis Spence
We cannot use the same items of folklore in two totally different ways.
Folklore as an Historical Science|George Laurence Gomme
Her ancestors were rugged people, given to legend and folklore.
My Father, the Cat|Henry Slesar
The reputation of Tony Bailles, the only actor Brownsville ever produced, was folklore in his native place.
Watch Yourself Go By|Al. G. Field

British Dictionary definitions for folklore

folklore

noun

the unwritten literature of a people as expressed in folk tales, proverbs, riddles, songs, etc

the body of stories and legends attached to a particular place, group, activity, etcHollywood folklore; rugby folklore

the anthropological discipline concerned with the study of folkloric materials

Derived Formsfolkloric, adjectivefolklorist, noun, adjectivefolkloristic, adjective

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

Word Origin and History for folklore

folklore

1846, coined by antiquarian William J. Thoms (1803-1885) as an Anglo-Saxonism (replacing popular antiquities) and first published in the "Athenaeum" of Aug. 22, 1846, from folk + lore. Old English folclar meant "homily."

This word revived folk in a modern sense of "of the common people, whose culture is handed down orally," and opened up a flood of compound formations, e.g. folk art (1892), folk-hero (1874), folk-medicine (1877), folk-tale/folk tale (1850; Old English folctalu meant "genealogy"), folk-song (1847), folk singer (1876), folk-dance (1877).

Culture definitions for folklore

folklore

Traditional stories and legends, transmitted orally (rather than in writing) from generation to generation. The stories of Paul Bunyan are examples of American folklore.