Folk Gave Us Folklore, Coined by One Man in 1846
Folk means people in general. The study of their traditions was named with a deliberately English word.
Folk means people in general, especially those of a community or tradition. *Folklore* was coined in 1846 by the antiquarian William Thoms, who wanted a plain English compound instead of the Latin or Greek terms then fashionable — he proposed it in a letter to a magazine, and it displaced the clumsy *popular antiquities* within a generation. German *Volk* is the same word, and English *folk* survives in *folk music*, *folk tale* and the informal plural *folks*.
- People in general. *Country folk.*
- Traditional culture. *Folk music.*
- Folklore. *Folklore.*
- Folks — family or people. *My folks.*
- Old English — *folc*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | folk | Folk. |
| Plural | folks | Folks. |
| Compound | folklore | Folklore. |
| Compound | folk music | Folk music. |
| German | Volk | People. |
- Local folk gathered outside.People.
- He collects folk songs.Tradition.
- Folklore was coined in 1846.History.
Plain English coinages that stuck
- Folklore — 1846, replacing popular antiquities
- Handbook — revived to replace manual
- Foreword — proposed instead of preface
- Many such attempts failed, including efforts to replace telephone
- The successful ones were short and obvious
Old English *folc*, people or nation, of Germanic origin, related to German *Volk*.
Who coined the word folklore?
William Thoms, an English antiquarian, in a letter to a magazine in 1846. He wanted a plain English word instead of a classical one.
What did folklore replace?
Popular antiquities, the clumsy term previously used for the study of traditional customs and stories.