Dictionary.com

folklore

[ fohk-lawr, -lohr ]
/ ˈfoʊkˌlɔr, -ˌloʊr /
Save This Word!

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.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Origin of folklore

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

OTHER WORDS FROM folklore

folklorist, nounfolk·lor·is·tic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use folklore in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for folklore

folklore
/ (ˈfəʊkˌlɔː) /

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 forms of folklore

folkloric, 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

Cultural 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.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
FEEDBACK