Dictionary

folklore en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈfəʊk.lɔː/ (UK)
• /ˈfoʊk.lɔːɹ/ (US)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *fulkazder. Proto-Germanic *fulką Proto-West Germanic *folk Old English folc Middle English folk English folk Proto-Indo-European *leys- Proto-Indo-European *(le-)lóys-e Proto-Germanic *lizaną Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Germanic *-janą Proto-Germanic *laizijaną Proto-Germanic *laizō Proto-West Germanic *laiʀu Old English lār Middle English lore English lore English folklore From folk + lore, coined by British writer William Thoms in 1846 to replace terms such as "popular antiquities". Thoms imitated German terms such as Volklehre (“people's customs”) and Volksüberlieferung (“popular tradition”). Compare also Old English folclar (“popular instruction; homily”) and West Frisian folkloare (“folklore”).

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The tales, legends, superstitions, and traditions of a particular ethnic population.
   • [T]here is no true American music but the wild sweet melodies of the Negro slave; the American fairy tales and folk-lore are Indian and African; and, all in all, we black men seem the sole oasis of simple faith and reverence in a dusty desert of dollars and smartness. 1903 April 18, W[illiam] E[dward] Burghardt Du Bois, “Of Our Spiritual Strivings”, in The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., →OCLC, pages 11–12:
   • Crossing the ridge she stood at last upon the brink of Kor-ul-GRYF—the horror place of the folklore of her race. 1921, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter 5, in Tarzan the Terrible, A. C. McClurg:
   • “Lisieux is a little town in Normandy,” she said. “I was there a few days with your father, one summer, long ago. It’s a country full of old stories, folklore, and traditions; and the people still believe in the Old Scratch pretty literally. […]” 1913, Booth Tarkington, The Flirt, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, →OCLC:
   • Why has not England a great mythology? Our folklore has never advanced beyond daintiness, and the greater melodies about our country-side have all issued through the pipes of Greece. 1908–1910 (date written; published 1910 October 18), E[dward] M[organ] Forster, chapter 33, in Howards End, London: Edward Arnold, →OCLC:
2. (broadly, countable, uncountable) The tales, superstitions etc. of any particular group or community.
   • Foxes boss Rodgers had a smile that illuminated Wembley as he joined Leicester's players in joyous scenes of celebration after the manager and his players had written their name into the club's folklore. 2021 May 14, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 0 – 1 Leicester”, in BBC Sport:
   • A selection of longer items of hacker folklore and humor is included in Appendix A, Hacker Folklore. 1996, Eric S. Raymond, The New Hacker's Dictionary, 3rd edition, MIT Press, →ISBN, page 3:
3. (countable, slang, uncountable) The collective of proofs or techniques which are widely known among mathematicians, but have never been formally published.

Forms

Deriveds

folkloric · folkloristically · pseudofolklore · folklorism · non-folklore · folklorist · folklorish · folkloristic · computerlore · folkloristics · nonfolklore · fakelore

Descendants

פֿאָלקלאָר · folclore · folclor · folkloro · folclore · folklór · folklore · folklor · פוֹלְקְלוֹר · folklore · Folklore · folclore · folklore · folclore · фолькло́р · folklor · folklore · folklore

Relateds

myth · folk · oral tradition · lore · intangible cultural heritage

Translations (111)

ru фолькло́р (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ms budaya rakyat (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ar فُلْكُلُور (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · he פוֹלְקְלוֹר (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · be фальклёр (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ms cerita rakyat (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · mk фолклор (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · pt folclore (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · li vólksleirn (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · kk фольклор (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · eu folklore (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · uz folklor (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · de Volksüberlieferung (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · fa-ira فولْکُلور (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · tl kuwentong bayan (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · el λαϊκή παράδοση (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · pl tradycja ludowa (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · sw hadithi za kale (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · az folklor (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · de Folklore (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · hu néphagyomány (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · tk folklor (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · el λαογραφία (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · lo ນິຍາຽ (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ka ფოლკლორი (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · tr folklor (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · eo folkloro (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · my ဇနကထာ (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ca folklore (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · bn লোকাচারবিদ্যা (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · fa-ira فَرْهَنْگِ عامِّه (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · lv garamantas (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · kmr zargotin (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · pl folklor (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · mg arira (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · cmn 民俗 (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · nb folklore (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · gd beul-aithris (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · et rahvaluule (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · uk фолькло́р (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · be фалькло́р (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ko 민속 (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ky фольклор (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · de Volkskunde (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · rue фолкло́р (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · sk folklór (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · fa-ira فَرْهَنْگِ مَرْدُم (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · yi פֿאָלקלאָר (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · lv folklora (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · gl folclore (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · th คติชาวบ้าน (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · es folklor (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · tt фольклор (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · si ජනප්රවාද (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · lus thurochun (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · izh foljklora (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ar فُولْكُلُور (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ro folclor (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · sq folklor (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ja 伝承 (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · hi लोकसाहित्य (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · it folclore (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ur لوک کَہانی (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ar فُلْكْلُور (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · vi văn học dân gian (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · hy բանահյուսական (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ar فُولْكْلُور (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · lt folkloras (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ko 민화 (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · nan-hbl 民俗 (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · sh fòlklōr (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · is þjóðmenning (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · cs folklór (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ga béaloideas (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · es demosofía (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · nl folklore (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · is þjóðtrú (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · fr folklore (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · mn аман зохиол (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · hu folklór (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · de Volkstradition (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ug فولكلور (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · sh фо̀лкло̄р (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ja 民話 (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · es folklore (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · id folklor (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · hy բանահյուսություն (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · es folclor (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · mg angano (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · az xəlqiyyat (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · km រឿងព្រេង (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · uz boboso’z (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · wuu 民俗 (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ps فولکلور (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · bg фолкло́р (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · sl folklor (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · sv folklore (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · hy ֆոլկլոր (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · th นิทาน (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · mn ардын аман зохиол (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · da folklore (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · et folkloor (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · es folclore (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · id cerita rakyat (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · bn উপকথা (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · th คติชน (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · yue 民俗 (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · fi kansanperinne (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · ja 民俗 (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · is alþýðumenning (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population) · tg фолклор (tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population)