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

The sequel does not deal with time passing at different rates between the physical and heavenly realm as the 2019 movie did, and there is exponentially more mythology added to Ne Zha’s story here. —Fred Topel, Deadline, 14 Feb. 2025

More Entertainment: What to Know About the MCU Ahead of 'Captain America: Brave New World' Naturally, fans have a ton of questions regarding what can be expected from the movie, including what new characters and mythology are introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 13 Feb. 2025

The mountain is a significant landmark in Shinto mythology, because Ninigi—the grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu—is said to have descended there to become the first ruler of Japan, establishing the divinity of all emperors thereafter. —Kevin Chroust, Outside Online, 5 Feb. 2025

No matter how many times she was counted out, the late singer knew how to imbue her mythology with new energy. —Daniel Felsenthal, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2025

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