folktale

noun

folk·​tale ˈfōk-ˌtāl 

: a characteristically anonymous, timeless, and placeless tale circulated orally among a people

Examples of folktale in a Sentence

West African folktales that continue to be passed from generation to generation through storytelling.

Recent Examples on the Web

Kingston’s book, a radical scrambling of folktale, myth, and autobiography, is largely fiction but was initially received as a straightforward memoir—exactly the kind of stereotypical immigrant story Kingston had tried to avoid. —Jane Hu, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2025

Aladdin, a character from a Middle Eastern folktale, stumbles on an oil lamp that unleashes a powerful, larger-than-life genie who grants him three wishes. —Sonal Jain, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025

Look at rumors, gossip, metaphors, euphemisms, folktales—all the means by which subordinate groups disguise their opposition. —Nikil Saval, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025

Everyone in the studio nods along to Paco’s tough-minded flexes and mafioso folktales. —Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 11 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for folktale

• airmail
• assail
• avail
• bewail
• blackmail
• cattail
• cocktail
• curtail
• derail
• detail
• dovetail
• email

Kids Definition

folktale

noun

folk·​tale -ˌtāl 

: a story made up and handed down by the common people