oral history

noun

1. information of historical or sociological importance obtained usually by tape-recorded interviews with persons whose experiences and memories are representative or whose lives have been of special significance.
2. a book, article, recording, or transcription of such information.

oral history

noun

1. the memories of living people about events or social conditions which they experienced in their earlier lives taped and preserved as historical evidence

Other Words From

• oral historian noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of oral history¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

The man is working to compile an oral history of the Troubles for Boston College's Belfast Project.

From Salon

A dozen years later, when the series had achieved legendary status and its stars had become universally well known, Apatow, who was editing a comedy-themed issue of Vanity Fair, asked me to put together an oral history of the show, for which I spoke with every major cast member, some minor ones, writers, directors and executives and, once again, Apatow and Feig.

From Los Angeles Times

“Some places just attract us more powerfully than others,” Walt Anderson, the manager, explained in a 2006 oral history.

From Los Angeles Times

Longtime activist Julian Bond recalled in “Voices of Freedom,” an oral history of the movement, that Lawson sounded “like the bad younger brother pushing King to do more, to be more militant” and had “a much more ambitious idea of what nonviolence could do.”

From Los Angeles Times

She’s the observant eyewitness and caretaker of their oral history, though the details are potentially lost, muddled or otherwise exaggerated by our storyteller.

From Los Angeles Times