myth
/mɪθ/ noun
Forms myths mythe
- noun A traditional story which embodies a belief regarding some fact or phenomenon of experience, and in which often the forces of nature and of the soul are personified; a sacred narrative regarding a god, a hero, the origin of the world or of a people, etc.
- noun (uncountable) Such stories as a genre.
- noun A commonly-held but false belief, a common misconception; a fictitious or imaginary person or thing; a popular conception about a real person or event which exaggerates or idealizes reality. “Scientists debunk the myth that gum stays in the human stomach for seven years.”
- noun A person or thing held in excessive or quasi-religious awe or admiration based on popular legend
- noun A person or thing existing only in imagination, or whose actual existence is not verifiable.
- noun An invented story, theory, or concept. “His story is a pure myth.”
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Ancient Greek μῦθος (mûthos, “word, humour, companion, speech, account, rumour, fable”). Attested in English since 1830. Doublet of mythos.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A story of great but unknown age which originally embodied a belief regarding some fact or phenomenon of experience, and in which often the forces of nature and of the soul are personified; an ancient legend of a god, a hero, the origin of a race, etc.; a wonder story of prehistoric origin; a popular fable which is, or has been, received as historical.
- noun A person or thing existing only in imagination, or whose actual existence is not verifiable.
Etymology [Gr. mythe.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “myth”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details