A person who studies, collects, or specializes in folklore and traditional culture.
Folk + lore + -ist suffix (meaning a person who practices or specializes in something). The term became standardized in the 19th century as folklore emerged as a formal academic discipline.
Early folklorists like the Brothers Grimm famously cleaned up fairy tales, removing violence and adult content—so the 'traditional' stories we know today are actually heavily edited versions that folklorists decided were more appropriate.
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