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
Family lore had it that Ruby’s brother-in-law killed his wife — Ruby’s older sister — then fled with his children to Chicago. Cindy Chang, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024 Life of a White-Hat Hacker (Zoe Schiffer, Vox, August 2019) The white hat/black hat binary used to distill hacking’s morality evokes fantasy roleplaying and metaphysical lore—fitting counterparts given the overarching nerd/geek subculture from which hacking emerged. Chris Wheatley, Longreads, 12 Mar. 2024 Another interesting facet of the show’s lore the finale was able to touch on was Rick’s relationship with Diane. Diego Ramos Bechara, Variety, 28 Feb. 2024 Fans of such morbid lore might make their next stop the Dublin Historic Park and Museums, a ragtag collection of locally significant buildings that were moved here over time. John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2024 And a child may hear about some distant Native ancestor, then build an identity around what turns out to be a bit of family lore. Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 Win or lose on Sunday, the Lions have already claimed a beloved place of lore. USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024 Without delving into spoilers, much like how 2020’s Remake mostly stuck to the script while expanding on the game’s characters and lore before taking a huge departure, the plot of Rebirth isn’t a wholly new story. Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 22 Feb. 2024 Tulkarm, like many others, was mainly quiet after the second intifada, but the younger generation grew up with family lore of fathers, uncles, and brothers arrested or killed by Israeli forces. Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Mar. 2024

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 29 Mar. 2024.

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!