lore

1 of 2

noun (1)

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 adjective

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 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lore.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of lore was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near lore

Cite this Entry

“Lore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lore. Accessed 21 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

lore

noun
ˈlō(ə)r,
ˈlȯ(ə)r
: knowledge sense 1
especially : a particular body of knowledge or tradition
forest lore

More from Merriam-Webster on lore

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!