mythology

play

noun my·thol·o·gy \mi-ˈthä-lə-jē\

Definition of mythology

plural

mythologies

1 : an allegorical narrative
2 : a body of myths: such asa : the myths dealing with the gods, demigods, and legendary heroes of a particular peopleb : 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

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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

But there’s a good reason the Spider-Man series has been rebooted twice since 2002, when Sam Raimi made the first movie foray into the Marvel character's mythology: In our imagination Peter Parker remains, and always must be, a teenager.

— stephanie zacharek, Time, "Review: The New Spider-Man’s Coolest Superpower? He's Just a Kid", 30 June 2017
Sharon Starr is the housekeeper Cassandra, a nod to Greek mythology, ancient wisdom, and low brow voodoo.

— denise coffey, Courant Community, "Sibling Rivalry Handled With Truth, Humor And Brilliance", 29 June 2017
For her first line of highlighters called the Stardust collection, Worthy drew inspiration from Greek mythology.

— devon abelman, Allure, "Wvrthy Makes Highlighters Specifically for People of Color", 23 June 2017
In Indian mythology, the Hindu demon Rahu spent his days chasing the Moon and Sun.

— matt blitz, Popular Mechanics, "What 4,000 Years of Solar Eclipses Taught Us About the Universe", 21 June 2017
The Goldbergs are a typical family: argumentative, secretive and resentful, prone to putting faith in personal mythology that may have no bearing on reality but has become permanently fixed in family lore.

— connie ogle, miamiherald, "Got family issues? Then you’ll recognize the Goldbergs", 20 June 2017
Maybe read the mythology before picking a name to make sure your firm isn’t named after an incestuous swindler…

— erin griffith, Fortune, "Term Sheet — Friday, June 16", 16 June 2017
This week, under one roof, these women will gather for the fest to joke about Jane Austen and mythology and weird liquor and moms and male appendages, oh my.

— morgan greene, chicagotribune.com, "Expect feats of female comedy at Chicago Women's Funny Festival", 14 June 2017
To me that was just a huge part of the legacy and even the mythology of growing up in Muscle Shoals.

— matt wake, AL.com, "The story behind Jason Isbell's biggest album yet, 'The Nashville Sound'", 13 June 2017

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

French or Late Latin; French mythologie, from Late Latin mythologia interpretation of myths, from Greek, legend, myth, from mythologein to relate myths, from mythos + logos speech — more at legend

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First Known Use: 1603

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