mythology

noun

my·​thol·​o·​gy mi-ˈthä-lə-jē 

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 sense 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 sense 2a

defective mythologies that ignore masculine depth of feeling

—Robert Bly

mythologer

mi-ˈthä-lə-jər 

noun

mythologist

mi-ˈthä-lə-jist 

noun

Synonyms

• folklore
• legend
• legendry
• lore
• myth
• mythos
• tradition

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 on the Web

In Greek mythology, Paris’ abduction of Helen from her Greek husband, Menelaus, led to the Trojan War. —Amarachi Orie, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024

The eponymous labyrinth of ancient Greek mythology—the one with the ferocious Minotaur in its depths—is, in descriptions by classical authors, pretty obviously a maze. —Hazlitt, 10 Apr. 2024

Solar eclipses have long triggered fanciful explanations and warnings, from religious mythology to modern-day superstition. —Bill Chappell, NPR, 8 Apr. 2024

In Norse mythology, the eclipse takes the form of two wolves—Skoll and Hati—chasing the sun and the moon. —Elissaveta M. Brandon, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024

In 2017, Piskor took a similar all-encompassing ensemble approach to Marvel superhero mythology with X-Men: Grand Design, an attempt to synthesize the complicated history of mutants in a cohesive narrative. —Christian Holub, EW.com, 2 Apr. 2024

In recent years, games like God of War and Hades have brought new familiarity to Norse and Greek mythology. —Megan Farokhmanesh, WIRED, 2 Apr. 2024

The new Fortnite season is based on Greek mythology and the three main skins will be versions of Poseidon, Zeus, Hades and Athena. —Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2024

The Musée d’Orsay, home to the world’s largest collection of Impressionist art, has mounted an exhibition that challenges the mythology of the movement’s origins and the ossification of its aesthetic concerns. —Emily Labarge, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

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, storytelling," from mŷthos "utterance, tale, myth" + -o- -o- + -logia -logy

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

mythology

noun

my·​thol·​o·​gy mith-ˈäl-ə-jē 

plural mythologies

1

: a collection of myths

especially : the myths dealing with the gods and heroes of a particular people

Greek mythology

2

: a branch of knowledge that deals with myths

mythological

ˌmith-ə-ˈläj-i-kəl

adjective