lore means all the facts and traditions about a particular subject that have been accumulated over time through education or experience.
lore is pronounced /lɔː/.
Why “lore” is a great word
The accumulated body of knowledge, tradition, and anecdote concerning a particular subject, passed down through instruction or experience. From Old English lār (“teaching, instruction, learning”), from Proto-Germanic *laizō, and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *lois- (“furrow, track”), metaphorically “to follow a course of instruction.” Unlike history, which demands a formal chronology of events, or mythology, which codifies the sacred and supernatural, lore is the quieter, sedimented wisdom gathered in the margins. It is the herbalist’s rule for which mushroom glows in a certain phase of the moon, the old sailor’s method for tying a knot that holds only in a south wind, the family story, told for generations, about why the hill at the edge of town is hollow. It lives in calloused hands, in the scent of old paper and woodsmoke, carrying not just what we know, but how we have learned to survive.
Etymology
From Latin lorum (“thong, strap”).
noun
- All the facts and traditions about a particular subject that have been accumulated over time through education or experience.e.g.“the recondite lore of the Ancient Egyptians”
- The backstory, especially for a character or setting, created around a fictional universe.e.g.“Lore documents reveal that she was backstabbed by her subordinate, who wanted to become king, and she feels vengeful about it.”
- The backstory, especially for a character or setting, created around a fictional universe.; Trivia shared by a person about themself.e.g.“It's Ashot lore that I used to have a priv where I posted pictures of weird animals I found on the street.”
- Workmanship.e.g.“In her right hand a rod of peace shee bore, / About the which two serpents weren wound; / Entrayled mutually in lovely lore, / And by the tailes together firmely bound […]”
- The region between the eyes and nostrils of birds, reptiles, and amphibians.e.g.“He’s sticky and encrusted on one side below his beak and amongst the lores around his eyes by the pips and juices he has dined upon, the pith and pulp of feeding.”
- The anterior portion of the cheeks of insects.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- earthlore 86% match — Knowledge, teaching, study, or science of the earth. vs lore →
- winelore 86% match — Knowledge of the history and craft of wine and winemaking; oenology. vs lore →
- lifelore 85% match — The knowledge of life or life experiences; wisdom. vs lore →
- wordlore 85% match — The science, study, or knowledge of words. vs lore →
- folklore 85% match — The tales, legends, superstitions, and traditions of a particular ethnic population. vs lore →
- loresman 84% match — An instructor or teacher of traditional wisdom. vs lore →
- fairylore 84% match — The knowledge, study, history, or lore of fairies. vs lore →
- loremaster 84% match — A wise person with knowledge of lore in any number of topics, such as history, genealogy, ancient poetry and possibly magic as well; A scholar. vs lore →