Glossary Entry: Lore
Definition
"Lore" refers to the backstory and in-universe history of something from a work of fiction. Or to be more specific, it's the extra stuff that fills in a work's world building.
Most of the time, the audience doesn't need to know about something's lore in order to enjoy the story that contains it, but knowing the lore can enhance your experience by giving you additional insight into the story's world and characters.
To use Star Trek (a very lore heavy series) as an example, it's enough for the audience to know that ships have shields to defend them from enemy weapons. How those shields supposedly work - and thus how they can be circumvented by a clever attacker - is lore.
Most of the time, the audience doesn't need to know about something's lore in order to enjoy the story that contains it, but knowing the lore can enhance your experience by giving you additional insight into the story's world and characters.
To use Star Trek (a very lore heavy series) as an example, it's enough for the audience to know that ships have shields to defend them from enemy weapons. How those shields supposedly work - and thus how they can be circumvented by a clever attacker - is lore.
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