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

Noun (1) the home gardener had acquired her herbal lore from many years of trial and error set out to study the rich lore of the Cajun people of Louisiana before it all vanished
Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
But those looking for lore may be particularly interested in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. EW.com, 8 May 2025 Gourmet Sony Pictures The Midtown French giants Lutèce, La Caravelle and La Côte Basque shutter, all in one year, and with that the sauced and coiffed luncheons of the 1960s and ’70s pass into Capote-era lore. New York Times, 7 May 2025 The lake house was a corner of both Southern bourgeois culture and Gemstone lore that McBride and his team were eager to explore. Alison Herman, Variety, 5 May 2025 The bigger this franchise gets, the more the lore accumulates. Charlotte Walsh, Vulture, 5 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for lore

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lore. Accessed 19 May. 2025.

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

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