myth means 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. It carries an Arena rating of 1589, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, myth ranks #1,065 of 17,113 for Most Elegant Words, #2,987 of 17,125 for Most Incisive Words, #3,247 of 17,123 for Most Malleable Words, #3,709 of 17,111 for Most Sublime Words.
myth is pronounced /mɪθ/.
Why “myth” is a great word
A traditional story, often involving supernatural beings or ancestors, that explains a natural phenomenon, cultural practice, or worldview of a people. From Ancient Greek μῦθος (mûthos, "speech, thought, story, fable"), attested in English since 1830 and a doublet of mythos. Unlike a legend, which implies a kernel of embellished history, or an allegory, a constructed fiction to illustrate a moral, a myth deals in the foundational and prehistorical—the sacred soil from which a people’s reality first grows. It is the serpent coiled at the roots of the world tree, the theft of fire that doomed and elevated humanity, and the night sky not as empty space but as a tapestry of ancestral deeds. It is the story told not to be believed, but to believe *through*.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek μῦθος (mûthos, “word, humour, companion, speech, account, rumour, fable”). Attested in English since 1830. Doublet of mythos.
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.e.g.“Jacobsen's theory about the empty storehouse is still valid, for a myth never has one meaning only; a myth is a polyphonic fugue of many voices.”
- Such stories as a genre.e.g.“Myth was the product of man's emotion and imagination, acted upon by his surroundings. (E. Clodd, Myths & Dreams (1885), 7, cited after OED)”
- 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.
- A person or thing held in excessive or quasi-religious awe or admiration based on popular legende.g.“Father Flanagan was legendary, his institution an American myth. (Tucson (Arizona) Citizen, 20 September 1979, 5A/3, cited after OED)”
- A person or thing existing only in imagination, or whose actual existence is not verifiable.e.g.“As for Mrs. Primmins's bones, they had been myths these twenty years.”
- An invented story, theory, or concept.e.g.“His story is a pure myth.”