lore
1 Americannoun
-
the body of knowledge, especially of a traditional, anecdotal, or popular nature, on a particular subject.
the lore of herbs.
- Synonyms:
- wisdom
-
learning, knowledge, or erudition.
-
Archaic.
-
the process or act of teaching; instruction.
-
something that is taught; lesson.
-
noun
noun
-
collective knowledge or wisdom on a particular subject, esp of a traditional nature
-
knowledge or learning
-
archaic teaching, or something that is taught
noun
-
the surface of the head of a bird between the eyes and the base of the bill
-
the corresponding area in a snake or fish
Synonym Usage
See learning.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lore1
First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English lār; cognate with Dutch leer, German Lehre “teaching”; see origin at learn
Origin of lore2
First recorded in 1615–25; from New Latin lōrum, special use of Latin lōrum “thong, strap”
Explanation
Lore is a body of knowledge or tradition that is passed down among members of a culture, usually orally. It's the lore in "folklore," and responsible for spreading the word on mythical figures like Santa Claus, Paul Bunyan, and even Uncle Sam. Most lore begins as an oral tradition, passed on by word of mouth, and only later takes on a written form. We tend to think of lore as something centuries-old, as in the British Arthurian lore surrounding the doings of the mythical King Arthur and his court. However, newer lore — such as baseball lore — is constantly springing up. Humans need and love their lore.
Vocabulary lists containing lore
Vocabulary from an excerpt from "Confessions of a 30-Year-Old Gamer," by Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates
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Beowulf
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The Girl Who Drank the Moon
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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.
“Eternally Yours” isn’t the first TV comedy to take a bite out of vampire lore.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
That much was a given on “Lanterns” from the moment HBO debuted the first images of Aaron Pierre’s John and Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan – there’s that, and DC Comics’ established lore.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
In the remaining lore, myths recur of episodes of runaway planetary temperature changes, hot and cold, as well as a series of volcanic blasts that changed the globe.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
In medbed lore, they are one of several kinds of aliens cited to explain the super-advanced “dimensional” medical technology.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
In the same way, preserved Indian lore throws a brilliantly colored but indirect light on the past.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
