mythology

English

Etymology

First attested as Middle English in 1412. From Middle French mythologie, from Latin mythologia, from Ancient Greek μυθολογία (muthología, “legend”) μυθολογέω (muthologéō, “I tell tales”), from μυθολόγος (muthológos, “legend”), from μῦθος (mûthos, “story”) +‎ λέγω (légō, “I say”).

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) enPR: mĭthôlôjē, IPA^(key): /mɪˈθɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/
(US) IPA^(key): /mɪˈθɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/
- Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -ɒlədʒi

Noun

mythology (countable and uncountable, plural mythologies)

(countable and uncountable) The collection of myths of a people, concerning the origin of the people, history, deities, ancestors and heroes.
- 2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 55:
  The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.
(countable and uncountable) A similar body of myths concerning an event, person or institution.
- 2003, Peter Utgaard, Remembering & Forgetting Nazism: Education, National Identity, and the Victim Myth in Postwar Austria‎, Berghahn Books, →ISBN, page x:
  This program to distinguish Austria from Germany was important to building a new Austria, but it also indirectly contributed to victim mythology by implying that participation in the Nazi war of conquest was antithetical to Austrian identity.
(countable and uncountable) Pervasive elements of a fictional universe that resemble a mythological universe.
- 2000 April 28, Caryn James (?), As Scheherazade Was Saying . . ., in The New York Times, page E31, reproduced in The New York Times Television Reviews 2000, Routledge (2001), →ISBN, page 198:
  This tongue-in-cheek episode is especially fun for people who don’t take their “X-Files” mythology seriously.
(uncountable) The systematic collection and study of myths.

Synonyms

godlore

Derived terms

mythological
mythologist

Translations

myths of a people

Azerbaijani: mifologiya
Basque: mitologia (eu)
Bulgarian: митология (bg) f (mitologija)
Catalan: mitologia (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 神話／神话 (zh) (shénhuà)
Czech: mytologie (cs), bájesloví f
Dutch: mythologie (nl) f
Estonian: mütoloogia
Finnish: tarusto, mytologia (fi); jumalaistarusto (divine)
French: mythologie (fr) f
Galician: mitoloxía (gl) f
Georgian: მითოლოგია (mitologia)
German: Mythologie (de) f, Sagenwelt f, Götterlehre f
Greek: μυθολογία (el) (mythología)
Indonesian: mitologi (id)
Italian: mitologia (it) f
Japanese: 神話 (ja) (しんわ, shinwá)
Khmer: ទេវកថា (km) (teivea’ ka’tʰaa)
Korean: 신화(神話) (ko) (sinhwa)
Latin: mythologia f
Latvian: mitoloģija f
Maltese: mitoloġija f
Occitan: mitologia (oc) f
Polish: mitologia (pl) f
Portuguese: mitologia (pt) f
Romanian: mitologie (ro) f
Russian: мифоло́гия (ru) f (mifológija), ми́фы (ru) m pl (mífy)
Scots: meethologie
Serbo-Croatian: mitològija (sh) f
Spanish: mitología (es) f
Swedish: mytologi (sv) c
Tajik: асотир (asotir)
Turkish: mitoloji (tr)
Ukrainian: міфоло́гія (uk) f (mifolóhija), мітоло́гія f (mitolóhija)
Vietnamese: thần thoại (vi)
Welsh: chwedloniaeth (cy) f

myths concerning an event, person or institution

Finnish: kertomus (fi), tarina (fi)
Indonesian: mitologi (id)
Korean: 신화(神話) (ko) (sinhwa)
Latvian: mitoloģija f
Polish: mitologia (pl) f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: митоло̀гија f
Roman: mitològija (sh) f
Swedish: mytologi (sv) c
Turkish: mitoloji (tr)

pervasive elements of a fictional universe

Finnish: myytistö

collection and study of myths

Albanian: mitologjia
Alemannic German: Mythologie f
Arabic: مِيثُولُوجِيَا‎ f (miṯulūjiyā)
Armenian: դիցաբանություն (hy) (dicʿabanutʿyun)
Azerbaijani: mifologiya
Basque: mitologia (eu)
Belarusian: міфало́гія f (mifalóhija)
Bulgarian: митоло́гия (bg) f (mitológija)
Catalan: mitologia (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 神話學／神话学 (zh) (shénhuàxué)
Czech: mytologie (cs) f, mythologie (cs) f
Danish: mytologi (da)
Dutch: mythologie (nl) f
Esperanto: mitologio
Estonian: mütoloogia
Faroese: gudalæra f
Finnish: mytologia (fi), myyttien tutkimus
French: mythologie (fr) f
Georgian: მითოლოგია (mitologia)
German: Mythologie (de) f, Sagenwelt f, Götterlehre f
Greek: μυθολογία (el) f (mythología)
Hebrew: מיתולוגיה‎ (he) f (mitologia)
Hungarian: mitológia (hu)
Ido: mitologio (io)
Indonesian: mitologi (id), ilmu mitos
Italian: mitologia (it) f
Japanese: 神話学 (しんわがく, shinwagaku)
Khmer: ទេវកថាវិទ្យា (teivea’ka’tʰaa vityie)
Korean: 신화학(神話學) (ko) (sinhwahak)
Latin: mythologia f
Latvian: mitoloģija f
Lithuanian: mitologija f
Luxembourgish: Mythologie f
Malay: kaji mitos, mitologi
Maltese: mitoloġija f
Polish: mitologia (pl) f
Portuguese: mitologia (pt) f
Romanian: mitologie (ro) f, colecție mitologică f
Russian: мифоло́гия (ru) f (mifológija)
Scots: meethologie
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: митоло̀гија f
Roman: mitològija (sh) f
Slovak: mytológia f
Slovene: mitologija (sl) f
Spanish: mitología (es) f
Swahili: mitholojia
Swedish: mytologi (sv) c
Tajik: ривоятҳо (rivoyatho)
Turkish: mitoloji (tr)
Turkmen: mifologiýa
Ukrainian: міфоло́гія (uk) f (mifolóhija)
Walloon: mitolodjeye
Welsh: mytholeg (cy)