noun
mythology
mih-THOL-uh-jee
noun
1
A traditional body of myths belonging to a particular culture, explaining its origins, gods, ancestors, and heroes.
"Greek mythology is full of gods who behave more like flawed humans than perfect deities."
"She studied Norse mythology for her thesis on Odin and the Nine Realms."
2
A set of widely believed ideas about something that are false or exaggerated.
"The mythology around overnight startup success ignores years of quiet failure."
"There is a whole mythology around the healing power of crystals with no evidence behind it."
3
The academic study of myths and how they are structured and used.
"He teaches a course in comparative mythology at the university."
How to Use Mythology
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA culture's collection of traditional stories about gods and heroes — or, more loosely, a set of popular beliefs that aren't actually true.
Common pairings
Greek mythology
Norse mythology
the mythology surrounding
a whole mythology
Word Forms
mythologies plural
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Greek _____ is full of gods who behave more like flawed humans than perfect deities.
Etymology
From Middle French mythologie, from Latin mythologia, from Greek mythos ("story") plus -logia ("study of").