myth

myth  (mth)

n.

1.

a. A traditional, typically ancient story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that serves as a fundamental type in the worldview of a people, as by explaining aspects of the natural world or delineating the psychology, customs, or ideals of society: the myth of Eros and Psyche; a creation myth.

b. Such stories considered as a group: the realm of myth.

2. A popular belief or story that has become associated with a person, institution, or occurrence, especially one considered to illustrate a cultural ideal: a star whose fame turned her into a myth; the pioneer myth of suburbia.

3. A fiction or half-truth, especially one that forms part of an ideology.

4. A fictitious story, person, or thing: "German artillery superiority on the Western Front was a myth" Leon Wolff.

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[New Latin mthus, from Late Latin mthos, from Greek mthos.]

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myth

Noun

1.

a. a story about superhuman beings of an earlier age, usually of how natural phenomena or social customs came into existence

b. same as mythology (senses 1, 2)

2.

a. an idea or explanation which is widely held but untrue or unproven: the myth that the USA is a classless society

b. a person or thing whose existence is fictional or unproven: the Loch Ness Monster is a myth [Greek muthos fable]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

myth - a traditional story accepted as history; serves to explain the world view of a people story - a piece of fiction that narrates a chain of related events; "he writes stories for the magazines" Gotterdammerung, Ragnarok, Twilight of the Gods - myth about the ultimate destruction of the gods in a battle with evil mythology - myths collectively; the body of stories associated with a culture or institution or person

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myth

noun 1. legend, story, tradition, fiction, saga, fable, parable, allegory, fairy story, folk tale, urban myth, urban legend

noun 2. illusion, story, fancy, fantasy, imagination, invention, delusion, superstition, fabrication, falsehood, figment, tall story, cock and bull story (informal)

Translations

myth [mɪθ] n → mito

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myth [mɪθ] n → mythe m

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myth [mɪθ] n → Mythos m;

(fallacy) → Märchen nt

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myth [mɪθ] n → mito