folklorist
Studies traditional tales
A folklorist is someone who studies folklore—the traditional beliefs, customs, stories, songs, and practices passed down within cultures.
Folklorists collect and analyze oral traditions, myths, legends, and rituals: The folklorist spent years documenting Appalachian ballads.
The field bridges anthropology, literature, and cultural studies.
Unverified traditional tale
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
- fableMoral tale with animals
- balladNarrative poem or song
- epicImpressively grand in scope
saga · parable · anecdote · yarn · tall-tale · fairy-tale · motif
Systematic study of peoples
- informantOne who provides intelligence
- oral-historyRecorded firsthand accounts
- transcriptionWritten version of speech
- archiveStored historical records
documentation · collection · interview · notation · preservation · annotation · cataloging · expedition
Baseless belief in omens
- omenProphetic indicator
- charmAttractive personal quality
- curseInvoked harm through words
- evil-eyeCurse-inflicting look
animism · spirit · ghost · witch · shapeshifter · prophecy · divination · amulet
Traditional saying expressing truth
- riddlePuzzling question to solve
- dialectRegional language variety
- sayingShort, wise expression
- rhymeMatching terminal sounds
chant · incantation · tongue-twister · greeting · oath · nickname · expression
legend
Unverified traditional tale
epic · saga · parable · anecdote · yarn · tall-tale · fairy-tale · motif
ethnography
Systematic study of peoples
- informantOne who provides intelligence
- oral-historyRecorded firsthand accounts
- transcriptionWritten version of speech
archive · documentation · collection · interview · notation · preservation · annotation · cataloging · expedition · survey
superstition
Baseless belief in omens
evil-eye · animism · spirit · ghost · witch · shapeshifter · prophecy · divination · amulet · talisman
proverb
Traditional saying expressing truth
rhyme · chant · incantation · tongue-twister · greeting · oath · nickname · expression
festival
Organized public celebration
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- weddingMarriage rite and feast
- funeralService honoring the dead
harvest · carnival · procession · dance · costume · mask · craft · foodways · mumming · wassailing
- folklorefairy tales, fairytales, folktales, fairy tale, legends
- scholarsscholar, professors, professor, researcher, researchers
- storytellersstorytellers, narrator, narrators, tale-teller, tale spinner
- cultural scholarsanthropologist, ethnographer, ethnologist, cultural critic, ethnomusicologist
- humanities careershistorian, philosopher, linguist, archaeologist, anthropologist
- knowledge keepersarchivist, curator, historian, librarian, loremaster
folkloristnovelist
Writer of prose narratives
fiction writer · poet · playwright · inventor · creative writer
folkloristfuturist
Tomorrow trends scholar
avant-gardist · trend forecaster · modernist · iconoclast · innovator