mythology

noun my·thol·o·gy \ mi-ˈthä-lə-jē \

Updated on: 12 May 2018

plural mythologies

1 : an allegorical narrative

2 : a body of myths: such as

a : the myths dealing with the gods, demigods, and legendary heroes of a particular people

b : mythos 2

cold war mythology

3 : a branch of knowledge that deals with myth

4 : a popular belief or assumption that has grown up around someone or something : myth 2a

defective mythologies that ignore masculine depth of feeling
—Robert Bly

—

mythologer

play \-jər\ noun

—

mythologist

play \-jist\ noun

See mythology defined for English-language learners

See mythology defined for kids

Examples of mythology in a Sentence

We have been studying ancient Greek mythology.
We compared the two cultures' mythologies.
There is a popular mythology that he discovered the cause of the disease by himself.

Recent Examples of mythology from the Web

Thanos threatens to not only destroy life on Earth but also, in a meta sense, shatter everything Marvel has built since 2008: its characters, its many worlds, and its wide-ranging mythology.

— alex abad-santos, Vox, "9 questions about Avengers: Infinity War you were too embarrassed to ask," 2 May 2018
But furthermore, according to Greek mythology, Leto escaped Hera to give birth to Apollo and Artemis on the island, making it a sacred space where mortals could neither be born or die.

— kathryn lindsay, refinery29.com, "The Mythology Of Westworld Has A Lot Of Hidden Clues," 30 Apr. 2018
The line is of course a reference to Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world, according to Greek mythology, and the impetus for the Trojan War.

— kara brown, The Cut, "Olivia Pope Was Helen of Troy," 19 Apr. 2018
Hummingbirds have played important roles in Latin American cultures, religions, and mythology.

— National Geographic, "Inside the Black Market Hummingbird Love Charm Trade," 18 Apr. 2018
Narcissus belongs to mythology, and Vincent van Gogh most likely didn’t eat his yellow paint.

— chris stirewalt, Fox News, "You've got to work it," 5 Apr. 2018
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti made a reference to ancient Egyptian mythology, jokingly pointing out the space shuttle Osiris, a.k.a.

— ellen olivier, latimes.com, "King Tut-themed Discovery Ball raises more than $1.6 million for California Science Center," 26 Mar. 2018
In the competition, students answer questions on Latin grammar and vocabulary, Roman history and classical mythology in a quiz-bowl style format.

— michelle mullins, Naperville Sun, "Naperville People in the News," 19 Mar. 2018
What: One-of-a-kind jewelry influenced by nature and mythology, with flowing patterns of woven and forged metal around various focal stones.

— vanessa infanzon, charlotteobserver, "CLT Made: Lapidify," 12 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mythology.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of mythology

Middle English methologie, mithologie "exposition of a myth, book of myths," borrowed from Middle French & Late Latin; Middle French mythologie, borrowed from Late Latin mȳthologia (in Mythologiae, title of a myth compilation by Fulgentius, ca. 500), borrowed from Greek mȳthología "fiction, story-telling," from mŷthos "utterance, tale, myth" + -o- -o- + -logia -logy

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1603

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

mythology Synonyms

Synonyms

folklore, legend, legendry, lore, myth, mythos, tradition;

Related Words

folklife;

information, knowledge, wisdom;

anecdote, fable, folktale, old wives' tale, tale, yarn;

Other Mythology and Folklore Terms

elysian, fay, muse, nimbus, phoenix

MYTHOLOGY Defined for English Language Learners

mythology

noun

: the myths of a particular group or culture
: ideas that are believed by many people but that are not true

MYTHOLOGY Defined for Kids

mythology

noun my·thol·o·gy \ mi-ˈthä-lə-jē \

plural mythologies

: a collection of myths

Greek mythology

Learn More about mythology

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for mythology Spanish Central: Translation of mythology Nglish: Translation of mythology for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of mythology for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about mythology

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