lore

1 of 2

noun (1)

ˈlȯr 

1

: a particular body of knowledge or tradition

the lore of baseball heroes

2

: something that is learned:

a

: traditional knowledge or belief

tribal lore

b

: knowledge gained through study or experience

the lore of religious architecture

3

archaic : something that is taught : lesson

lore

2 of 2

noun (2)

: the space between the eye and bill in a bird or the corresponding region in a reptile or fish

—usually used in plural

dark lores

loreal

ˈlȯr-ē-əl 

adjective

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• knowledge
• science
• wisdom

Examples of lore in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

According to popular lore, the name comes not from the state, but from the Mississippi River, whose famously muddy banks were the inspiration for this thick, gooey pie. —Torie Cox, Country Living, 8 Sep. 2023

And so with a new Star Wars series to wrap our minds around—Ahsoka—we're about to get a whole lot more lore to add to our forever Star Wars history. —Evan Romano, Men's Health, 30 Aug. 2023

Its beginnings in the 1960s were so humble that parts of one of its early rockets were transported on the back of a bicycle, an image that has become lore. —Mujib Mashal, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2023

Starting with colonial lore, the pamphlet centers Boerum Hill in the settling and development of Brooklyn, as if the name had always existed. —Jonathan Lethem, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023

According to local lore, a young lady was killed in an accident here on the way to her wedding. —Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure, 17 Aug. 2023

The series is also establishing history and lore of its fake countries like Urzikstan, a reimagination of nations like Syria, and Kastovia, a vaguely Eastern European nation with stories dating back to the series’s version of World War II, once occupied by the game’s version of Nazi Germany. —Gene Park, Washington Post, 17 Aug. 2023

Instead of play-throughs or game guides, the channel focused on popular theories fans had about a character’s backstory or diving into a game’s lore, and trying to use those clues to predict what future installations of the game could look like. —Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 15 Aug. 2023

According to local lore, guests have claimed they were awakened by the sounds of women wailing outside room 327, while others have seen a lady dressed in early 19th-century garb roaming the halls. —Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure, 27 Aug. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English lār; akin to Old High German lēra doctrine, Old English leornian to learn

Noun (2)

New Latin lorum, from Latin, thong, rein; akin to Greek eulēra reins

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Noun (2)

1828, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

lore

noun

ˈlō(ə)r,

ˈlȯ(ə)r

: knowledge sense 1

especially : a particular body of knowledge or tradition

forest lore