The basic lore meaning is the body of knowledge, stories and traditional beliefs that a group of people shares and hands down, usually by word of mouth rather than in textbooks. Sailors have sea lore, grandmothers have kitchen lore, and every town seems to have a ghost story that only locals tell properly.
Fans of fantasy books, comics and video games have given the word a fresh job, where lore means the invented history and background of a fictional world. Both uses share one idea: lore is what insiders know, collected over time.
Entry at a glance
Meaning
Traditional knowledge or stories shared by a group; the backstory of a fictional worldPart of speech
Noun, usually uncountable (much lore, not many lores)Pronunciation
LOR, rhymes with more and doorOrigin
Old English lar, "teaching, learning"; related to learnCommon compounds
folklore, local lore, family lore, weather lore, game loreClose words
legend, tradition, mythology, backstoryRegister
Neutral; slightly literary in older uses, casual in fan talk
The lore meaning, sense by sense
- Traditional knowledge. Facts, skills and beliefs that a community builds up, such as which plants heal a cut or which clouds bring rain. Some of it is accurate, some of it is superstition.
- Stories and legends. Tales about a place, family or group: how the old temple bell cracked, why the school's west wing is "haunted".
- Knowledge of a subject. Expert insight in a field, as in cricket lore or wine lore, often the small details fans love.
- Fictional backstory. In fandom, the history, rules, peoples and events of an invented universe, including details hidden in side material.
Lore definition and where the word comes from
A short lore definition: shared knowledge passed on from person to person. The word goes back to Old English lar, meaning teaching or instruction, and it is a cousin of the verb learn. For centuries it could simply mean a lesson or a body of learning, and older writing sometimes uses it that way.
The best-known compound is folklore, coined in the nineteenth century by the English writer William Thoms to name the customs, songs and tales of ordinary people. Our page on culture explores the wider idea that folklore belongs to.
Lore in gaming and fan culture
If you have heard someone say "the lore of this game is huge", they mean the world's history: wars between kingdoms, how magic works, why a character wears a mask. Fans call themselves lore experts when they can explain these details, and long videos that piece together scattered clues are often labelled lore explained.
Writers use related terms. Canon is the lore the creators treat as official. Fan theories are guesses that may never be confirmed. A retcon happens when later stories change earlier lore. You will also see the slang adjective lore-friendly, meaning something that fits the established world.
Example sentences with lore
- According to local lore, the banyan tree near the station is older than the town itself.
- My uncle is full of fishing lore, like never whistling on a boat.
- The new season adds a lot of lore about the villain's childhood.
- Family lore says my great grandmother walked twelve miles to school, though nobody can prove it.
- She spent the weekend reading forums to catch up on the lore before the sequel.
Lore, legend, myth and tradition
| Word | What it stresses |
|---|---|
| Lore | The whole collection of shared knowledge and stories |
| Legend | One story, often about a real place or person, that may be exaggerated |
| Myth | A sacred or ancient story explaining the world, or a widely held false belief |
| Tradition | A custom or practice handed down, not only a story |
| Backstory | The past events behind a character or plot |
Lore is the umbrella. A legend can be part of a town's lore, and so can a tradition about how weddings are held.
Using it naturally
Lore usually comes after a describing word: ancient lore, sporting lore, office lore. You can also say the lore of something, as in the lore of the sea. Phrases such as steeped in lore and according to lore are common in travel writing.
Do not confuse it with lord or lure. Lure means to tempt or attract, and it sounds different (LOOR). In writing, lore is never a verb, so "he lored us with stories" is not correct. For more everyday words like nostalgia, browse our everyday vocabulary pages.
Frequently asked questions
In games, what does lore mean?
It means the history and background of the game world: its places, characters, conflicts and rules. Some games tell it directly, while others hide it in item descriptions and side quests for players to piece together.
Is lore plural or singular?
Usually it is uncountable: there is a lot of lore. The plural lores exists but is rare and sounds odd in everyday English.
How do you define lore in one sentence?
To define lore simply: it is knowledge and stories that a group shares and passes on over time, whether that group is a village, a profession or a fan community.
Is lore the same as folklore?
Folklore is one kind of lore: the traditional tales, songs, sayings and customs of ordinary people. Lore is wider and can cover any field, including sports, crafts or a made-up world.
Is lore true?
Not always. Some lore holds real practical wisdom, while some is legend or superstition. The word describes what people pass down, not whether it has been proven.
What does lore mean in slang?
Online, people sometimes joke about a person's lore, meaning the funny or dramatic backstory behind their habits or past. It borrows the fandom sense and applies it to real life.