oral history

noun

1

: a recording containing information about the past obtained from in-depth interviews concerning personal experiences, recollections, and reflections

also : the study of such information

2

: a written work based on oral history

oral historian noun

Examples of oral history in a Sentence

I'm reading an oral history of the Great Depression.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Jewish Food Society, which started as a digital archive to document ephemeral Jewish family recipes passed down in oral histories, reveres the past but isn’t stuck in it; the design is modern, the food styling is vibrant, and the recipes are meticulously tested. —Kayla Randall, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Dec. 2024

In a 2016 oral history of Temple of the Dog, Cornell told Rolling Stone about the origins of the song. —Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 25 Nov. 2024

Part memoir and part oral history, Let the Record Show is a master class on the utility of anger and a historical corrective to chronicles that depict straight white men as the main heroes of the AIDS crisis. —Ruth Madievsky, The Atlantic, 20 Nov. 2024

Goldenberg said Laurel Hill has recorded oral histories from longtime residents of the neighborhood where it's located − a neighborhood that's seen a great deal of growth and change. —Phaedra Trethan, USA TODAY, 26 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined at sense 1