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Synonyms

folklore

American  
[fohk-lawr, -lohr] / ˈfoʊkˌlɔr, -ˌloʊr /

noun

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

  2. the study of such lore.

  3. a body of widely held but false or unsubstantiated beliefs.

folklore British  
/ ˈfəʊkˌlɔː /

noun

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

  2. the body of stories and legends attached to a particular place, group, activity, etc

    Hollywood folklore

    rugby folklore

  3. the anthropological discipline concerned with the study of folkloric materials

"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
folklore Cultural  

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

Other Word Forms

  • folkloric adjective
  • folklorist noun
  • folkloristic adjective

Etymology

Origin of folklore

1846; folk + lore 1; coined by English scholar and antiquary William John Thoms (1803–85)

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Historically known as 'an Gabhar Fiáin' -- the wild goat -- the Old Irish Goat occupies a unique place in Irish folklore.

From Science Daily • Feb. 26, 2026

Malinin was among those in the crowd who gave Liu - the alt girl with her iconic halo hair and lip piercing - a standing ovation as she wrote herself into Olympic folklore.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026

With temporary tattoos of bats across her face - a nod to Transylvania's folklore and nature - Oliynykova saved 21 out of 23 break points against Wang to win 6-4 6-4.

From BBC • Feb. 5, 2026

Others describe money hidden in ceilings, toilet tanks and even household appliances, part of a folklore of concealment born of repeated financial trauma.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

Admittedly they resembled much of African folklore, but they had a freshness that appealed to my imagination.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.