mythology

noun

my·​thol·​o·​gy mi-ˈthä-lə-jē How to pronounce mythology (audio)
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 feelingRobert Bly
mythologer noun
mythologist noun

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Discovery, Sai Abhishek, joins Amish Tripathi to share details on the platform’s vision for exploring Indian mythology. Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025 American mythology about land ownership long existed as a rationale for Native dispossession, but the house in the little house on the prairie took center stage in 1917, the year of the Bolshevik Revolution. Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025 Back to that introduction: Mickey No. 17 had been considered a goner, left to die in that ice cave on the planet Niflheim (Norse mythology scholars, mark your bingo cards). David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Mar. 2025 And all deal with American iconography: more specifically, the nation’s foundational reliance on mythology and self-dramatization and the largely detrimental impact of all of that on, well, just making love and having children and trying to keep the wolf from the door. Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 27 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mythology

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of mythology was in 1603

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Cite this Entry

“Mythology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mythology. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

mythology

noun
my·​thol·​o·​gy mith-ˈäl-ə-jē How to pronounce mythology (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on mythology

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