myth


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Related to myth: Greek myth

myth

 (mĭth)
n.
1.
a. A traditional, typically ancient story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that serves as a fundamental type in the worldview of a people, as by explaining aspects of the natural world or delineating the psychology, customs, or ideals of society: the myth of Eros and Psyche; a creation myth.
b. Such stories considered as a group: the realm of myth.
2. A popular belief or story that has become associated with a person, institution, or occurrence, especially one considered to illustrate a cultural ideal: a star whose fame turned her into a myth; the pioneer myth of suburbia.
3. A fiction or half-truth, especially one that forms part of an ideology.
4. A fictitious story, person, or thing: "German artillery superiority on the Western Front was a myth" (Leon Wolff).

[New Latin mȳthus, from Late Latin mȳthos, from Greek mūthos.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

myth

(mɪθ)
n
1. (Classical Myth & Legend)
a. a story about superhuman beings of an earlier age taken by preliterate society to be a true account, usually of how natural phenomena, social customs, etc, came into existence
b. another word for mythology1, mythology3
2. a person or thing whose existence is fictional or unproven
3. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) (in modern literature) a theme or character type embodying an idea: Hemingway's myth of the male hero.
4. (Philosophy) philosophy (esp in the writings of Plato) an allegory or parable
[C19: via Late Latin from Greek muthos fable, word]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

myth

(mɪθ)

n.
1. a traditional or legendary story, esp. one that involves gods and heroes and explains a cultural practice or natural phenomenon.
2. stories of this kind collectively.
3. an invented story, fictitious person, etc.: His account of the event is pure myth.
4. a belief or set of beliefs, often unproven or false, that have accrued around a person, phenomenon, or institution: myths of racial superiority.
[1820–30; < Late Latin mȳthos < Greek mŷthos story, word]
syn: See legend.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

myth

A fictitious story, frequently intended to explain a phenomenon and generally concerning gods or beings from before written history; a story in which a theme or character embodies an idea in a similar way.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.myth - a traditional story accepted as historymyth - a traditional story accepted as history; serves to explain the world view of a people
story - a piece of fiction that narrates a chain of related events; "he writes stories for the magazines"
Gotterdammerung, Ragnarok, Twilight of the Gods - myth about the ultimate destruction of the gods in a battle with evil
mythology - myths collectively; the body of stories associated with a culture or institution or person
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

myth

noun
2. illusion, story, fancy, fantasy, imagination, invention, delusion, superstition, fabrication, falsehood, figment, tall story, cock and bull story (informal) Contrary to popular myth, most women are not spendthrifts.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

myth

noun
1. A traditional story or tale that has no proven factual basis:
2. A body of traditional beliefs and notions accumulated about a particular subject:
3. Any fictitious idea accepted as part of an ideology by an uncritical group; a received idea:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
أُسْطُورَةٌأسْطورَهاسطورة
mýtus
myte
myyttiuskomuskertomus
mit
mítoszrege
goîsögn
神話
신화
kaip mitasmitasmitologijamitologinispramanytas
mīts
mýtus
izmišljotinamit
myt
นิทานปรัมปรา
thần thoại

myth

[mɪθ] N (= story) → mito m; (= imaginary person, thing) → mito m, ilusión f
a Greek mythun mito griego
that's a mytheso es un mito
it's a myth that boiling water freezes faster than cold wateres un mito que el agua hirviendo se congela más rápidamente que el agua fría
see also urban B
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

myth

[ˈmɪθ] n
(= legend) → mythe m
a Greek myth → un mythe grec
(= fallacy) → mythe m
That's a myth → C'est un mythe.
the myth of love at first sight → le mythe du coup de foudre
contrary to popular myth ... → contrairement aux idées reçues ...
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

myth

nMythos m; (fig)Märchen nt; it’s a myth (fig)das ist doch ein Gerücht or Märchen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

myth

[mɪθ] nmito
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

myth

(miθ) noun
an ancient, fictional story, especially one dealing with gods, heroes etc.
ˈmythical adjective
ˈmythically adverb
mythology (miˈθolədʒi) noun
(a collection of) myths.
ˌmythoˈlogical (-ˈlo-) adjective
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

myth

أُسْطُورَةٌ mýtus myte Mythos μύθος mito myytti mythe mit mito 神話 신화 mythe myte mit mito миф myt นิทานปรัมปรา efsane thần thoại 神话
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

myth

n mito
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature ?
Yet was it all myth? She resented the doubt with quick jealousy, and, opening the bottom drawer of the chest, drew forth a battered portfolio.
It was in the myth that they circumnavigated Malaita twice, and forayed as far as Ugi and San Cristobal across the wide seas.
Then by means of the Myth of Pandora the poet shows how evil and the need for work first arose, and goes on to describe the Five Ages of the World, tracing the gradual increase in evil, and emphasizing the present miserable condition of the world, a condition in which struggle is inevitable.
"Listen, Conrart, this is the morality of Epicurus, whom, besides, I consider, if I must tell you so, as a myth. Antiquity is mostly mythical.
Beloved by one, a sort of instinctive and savage half-man, for its beauty, for its stature, for the harmonies which emanated from its magnificent ensemble; beloved by the other, a learned and passionate imagination, for its myth, for the sense which it contains, for the symbolism scattered beneath the sculptures of its front,--like the first text underneath the second in a palimpsest,--in a word, for the enigma which it is eternally propounding to the understanding.
"I have always thought," she said, "that Penelope was a myth. In your case I should say that Penelope represents a return to sanity
For the moment her fears had been allayed by the sight of the camp, which she had come to look upon as more or less a myth. Hanson pointed toward the single tent that stood in the center of the enclosure.
"That's part of the myth about me, I know," Katharine replied.
Ah, it would be just the spot for one to sit in, of a summer afternoon, and tell the children some more of those wild stories from the classic myths!"
Folklore, legends, myths and fairy tales have followed childhood through the ages, for every healthy youngster has a wholesome and instinctive love for stories fantastic, marvelous and manifestly unreal.
Also, I still believed in the old myths which were the heritage of the American boy when I was a boy.
This latter is commonly designated as folk-lore and embraces popularly myths and superstitions.