Etymology

folklore

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Today it means: The tales, legends, superstitions, and traditions of a particular ethnic population. Full definition →

English lore ← Middle English lore ← Old English lār
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic*fulkaz
  2. Proto-Germanic*fulką
  3. Proto-West Germanic*folk
  4. Old Englishfolc
  5. Middle Englishfolk
  6. Englishfolk
  7. Proto-Indo-European*leys-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*(le-)lóys-e
  9. Proto-Germanic*lizaną
  10. Proto-Germanic*laizijaną
  11. Proto-Germanic*laizō
  12. Proto-West Germanic*laiʀu
  13. Old Englishlār
  14. Middle Englishlore
  15. Englishlore
  16. English todayfolklore

From folk + lore, coined by British writer William Thoms in 1846 to replace terms such as "popular antiquities". Thoms imitated German terms such as Volklehre (“people's customs”) and Volksüberlieferung (“popular tradition”). Compare also Old English folclar (“popular instruction; homily”) and West Frisian folkloare (“folklore”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.