folklore
Americannoun
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the traditional beliefs, legends, customs, etc., of a people; lore of a people.
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the study of such lore.
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a body of widely held but false or unsubstantiated beliefs.
noun
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the unwritten literature of a people as expressed in folk tales, proverbs, riddles, songs, etc
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the body of stories and legends attached to a particular place, group, activity, etc
Hollywood folklore
rugby folklore
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the anthropological discipline concerned with the study of folkloric materials
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of folklore
1846; folk + lore 1; coined by English scholar and antiquary William John Thoms (1803–85)
Explanation
Stories, customs, and beliefs that are passed from one generation to the next are called folklore. According to folklore, you shouldn't take rocks from the volcanoes in Hawaii because Pele, the volcano goddess, will be angry and curse you. Folklore is a combination of the words folk and lore which dates from 1846. The former refers to a community of people, and the latter comes from the Old English lar, meaning learning or knowledge. Folk, in this sense, is also used in terms like folk music, folk dance, and folktale. Although traditionally folklore is passed along by word of mouth, in the modern era much folklore is being collected on the Internet.
Vocabulary lists containing folklore
Literary Genres - Introductory
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Reading: Literature - Literary Genres - Introductory
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Literary Genres - Advanced
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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.
The archive clips rolled out every World Cup make it feel like you were at the Azteca watching the brilliant Brazilians dispatch Italy - their beautifully simple yellow shirts a masterpiece of footballing folklore.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
A particularly intriguing chapter in Hill's back story is her link to one of the most famous episodes in UFO folklore.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
The original San Diego staging, which stressed Mexican folklore, was charming but static.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
"There may be some particular Canadian folklore that comes with it -- some of the values of the co-founders that are going to permeate," she said.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
The fact that many prescriptive rules are worth keeping does not mean that every pet peeve, bit of grammatical folklore, or dimly remembered lesson from Miss Thistlebottom’s classroom is worth keeping.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
