folklore

folk·lore

noun

Folklore is defined as stories, customs and beliefs in a culture that are unwritten and passed down orally from generation to generation.

An example of folklore is a story about where their family came from told to a grandchild by his grandma.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"folklore." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 18 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Folklore>.

APA Style

folklore. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Folklore

folklore

all of the unwritten traditional beliefs, legends, sayings, customs, etc. of a culture
the study and scientific investigation of these

Origin of folklore

folk + lore: suggested (1846) by W. J. Thoms (1803-85), Eng antiquary, to replace earlier popular antiquities

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"folklore." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 18 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Folklore>.

APA Style

folklore. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Folklore

folklore

noun

The traditional beliefs, myths, tales, and practices of a people, transmitted orally.
The comparative study of folk knowledge and culture. Also called folkloristics .
a. A body of widely accepted but usually spurious notions about a place, group, or institution: Rumors of their antics became part of the folklore of Hollywood.
b. A popular but unfounded belief.

Related Forms:

folk′lor′ic
adjective

folk′lor′ish
adjective

folk′lor′ist
noun

folk′lor·is′tic
adjective

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"folklore." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 18 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Folklore>.

APA Style

folklore. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Folklore

Noun

(countable and uncountable, plural folklores)

The tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population.

Origin

compound of folk + lore, coined in 1846 by William Thoms to replace terms such as "popular antiquities". Thoms imitated German terms such as Volksüberlieferung ("popular tradition").

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.