A popular belief that is false or unsupported by facts.
a legend, usually made up in part of historical events, that helps define the beliefs of a people and that often has evolved as an explanation for rituals and natural phenomena
"a traditional story of unknown authorship, ostensibly with a historical basis, but serving usually to explain some phenomenon of nture, the origin of man, or the customs, institutions, religious rites, etc., of a people ...: the exploits of gods and heroes" [Websters dictionary] ; a definition in keeping with contemporary usage: " any real or fictional story, recurring theme, or character type that appeals to the consciousness of a people by embodying its cultural ideals or by giving expression to commonly felt emotions" ( After the Fact, p. 405)
A fictional story to explain the origin of some person, place or thing.
A narrative in which some characters are superhuman beings who do things that "happen only in stories"; hence, a conventionalized or stylized narrative not fully adapted to plausibility or "realism."
A sacred story that conveys a religious worldview. Especially, a story about primeval times that involves supernatural figures and events.
A popular idea about social patterns which is based on false assumptions such as, women need/want to be protected by men.
A traditional, communal narrative, often involving fantastic or supernatural figures and events. In their inception, myths were transmitted orally, and both their authorship and their audience were anonymous and communal. Typically, they have a timeless, generic quality, with no specific historical setting. Their style tends to be na•ve or deadpan in manner, but whatever their ostensible motive the essential meaning is of myths is usually covert, lying in their symbolism. Many myths recount a hero's adventures involving a series of dangerous encounters with the unknown. These encounters may be interpreted psychologically as steps in a process of self-discovery and realization of the unconscious or spiritually as revelations of the divine potential within the mundane. See also "prefigurative device."
like allegory, myth usually is symbolic and extensive, including an entire work or story. Though it no longer is necessarily specific to or pervasive in a single culture—individual authors may now be said to create myths—there is still a sense that myth is communal or cultural, while the symbolic can often be private or personal.
a traditional story that attempts to explain a natural phenomenon or justify a certain practice or belief in society
a story which, although not strictly "true", enable people to grasp a great truth in symbolic terms. For example: the English myth of Robin Hood tells the story of a people's struggle for justice over oppression.
n. a traditional story, orally transmitted among the folk of the acts of gods and supernatural beings; a story of a mythology hero which served to explain actions of supernatural beings. For example, the myths of Jove, Venus and Hercules, have persisted in poetry.
A story of an intracosmic ground: taking one thing in the cosmos as the ground of being of another.
a traditional story accepted as history; serves to explain the world view of a people
a belief held without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation
a belief some people have that is not true
a belief that is not based on fact or has been passed down to us without a strong foundation of validity
a collective cultural experience, which provides a framework for how we think about the world
a delusional belief that the group adopts and acts upon
a fabrication created from an analysis of half-truths
a false account bearing truth
a false, fictitious, imaginary, or exaggerated belief about someone or something
a false idea whose support derives from literary or folkloric beliefs
a fiction or half truth, especially one that forms part of an ideology
a human way of exploring and dealing with a mysterious truth
a legendary story built up through storytelling and thought to be fictitious
a leyend or story, ussualy one that attemps to account for something in nature
a likely but luring story for a segment of mankind
a living, breathing entity that commands respect by its simple adherence to a truth
a magical story about how natural forces work (death, creation, weather)
an abstract conception dramatized
an account of sacred history
an ancient story, which may be filled with heroes and supernatural figures
a narrative that attempts to explain basic truths by using symbols
a narrative which discloses a sacred world
a narrative which seeks to explain historical, theological, natural, psychological, or moral truths in a metaphorical fashion
an attempt to explain mysteries, supernatural events, and cultural traditions
an explanation that is supposed to be meaningful, and whose historical or empirical truth status is actually irrelevant
an idea people keep in their minds upon which they build their beliefs, such as the idyll of the peaceful British countryside with white churches and so on
an idea that forms part of the beliefs of a group but is not founded on fact
an idea with a germ of truth that has become universalized
an imaginary, fictitious or invented story about a thing or event
an imaginary story based upon a fictitious person, place, or thing
an imaginary story that lives in the minds of people that tell it, working as a set of instructions for how things are or should be
an improbable story that develops over a long time
an orally transmitted story about the supernatural, believed by its traditional tellers, generally set in the distant past, and accounting for the origin of something
an orally transmitted story about the supernatural, So whether an urban legend can be true or not depends on what definition you use
an uncritically accepted story that tells us how the world works, what is the source of evil and the means of redemption, and what is deeply meaningful to human life
an unverifiable account of an historical event
a partial truth, even an outright lie which is used by a caste of power , or a provider of information, to hide dangerous truths, and limit knowledge among a mass of believers
a popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something or someone, embodying the ideas and institutions of a segment of society
a process of telling stories, most of which ain't true
a purely fictional story that has been passed on for generations, usually involving supernatural persons, actions or events
a sacred or symbolic story from the past, and it may be ritualistic in nature
a story about a god or goddess
a story about beginnings, origins
a story about gods or deities
a story about the gods which sets out to explain why life is as it is
a story about the universe that is considered sacred
a story about why things are the way they are
a story a person (or culture) constructs to make sense of the world around them
a story, based partly on historical fact, which helps a people develop a worldview
a story by which a people chart its shared life and history
a story containing within and having about it certain identifiable characteristics
a story designed to convey truth about nature and people through metaphor
a story from Ancient Greece or Rome connected with the Gods
a story made up to explain a feature of existence or the environment
a story meant to communicate a truth of life
a story, or account, which tells the truth untruthfully, which is to say, by figures and images rather than literally
a story or idea that is repeated so often that we often accept it as the truth
a story people used to understand their world
a story that confronts us with the "big picture," something transcendent and eternal, and in so doing, explains the worldview of a civilization
a story that conveys truth to the imagination
a story that describes how a people came to be, and why things are as they are
a story that explains something in nature
a story that forms communal and personal identity, gives meaning to the world, and relates the community to the heavenly realm
a story that has at some point been claimed to be true that explains why some aspect of the world is the way that it is
a story that has many levels of meaning and truth at the same time
a story that has to be true to have an effect on people
a story that is sacred to a group of people
a story that is told over and over again
a story that makes sense of the world
a story that makes sense on its own terms, offers explanations of everything we see before us, but can neither be disproved nor tested
a story that many people believe, but which is not true
a story that may fulfill a subjective need, or reveal something profound about the human psyche, but as commonly used it is not an account of objective reality
a story that serves to provide meaning and structure for life
a story that tells how things in some past time came to relate as they do, and thus how they ought to relate in the present
a story that whole communities believe and use to explain things
a story, thing, or person that is imaginary or fictitious
a story told or an oft-told story referred to by label or allusion which explains a problem iv
a story told to convey a believed truth
a story used to explain a belief, a practice, or an experience
a story (usually anonymous) that conveys the values and beliefs of a given race or nation and contains supernatural elements
a story which seizes on aspects of the world as we know it and dramatically exaggerates some parts of the whole to make the story's point
a symbolic story where human imagination expresses an idea that may be hard to convey in simple words
a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some superhuman being, or an alleged person or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation
a traditional story accepted as history and often formerly the religious beliefs of a culture, which help to explain the culture's world view
a traditional story that a particular culture or group once accepted as sacred and true
a traditional story, which may describe the origins of the world and/or of a people
a traditional story whose author chance to do a service to a god, when in his garden
a traditional story whose author is unknown
a traditional story with supernatural elements
a type of story of a previous period of time that involves some form of superhuman
a tradition or fable; an invented story
An original psychological experience retained in a symbolic form as a story. Often held together as an ritual.
A story used to communicate a profound truth.
A traditional story passed down through generations that explains why the world is the way it is.
A traditional or legendary story, esp. one that involves gods and heroes and explains a cultural practice or natural object or phenomenon; a belief or set of beliefs, often unproven or false, that have accrued around a person, phenomenon, or institution.
sacred stories that often explain the origins and worldview of a culture.
An improvable story, almost always including incredible or miraculous events, that has no specific reference point or time in history. Jump to Top
A term coined by Roland Barthes to describe the ways in which sign systems work ideologically to reproduce and legitimate particular social relations. Myth is a mode of signification that works to express and surreptitiously to justify the dominant values of a given historical period. Unlike the relatively simple level of denotative or literal meaning, in which a word or image corresponds to a single, straightforward definition, myth brings into play a whole chain of associated concepts (e.g., tree–nature–goodness) by which members of a culture understand certain topics, and which help to shape their collective identities.
a story whose origin is unknown. The story usually has to do with supernatural events and heroes of a particular place. Myths often attempt to explain such phenomena as birth, death, creation, the seasons, and heroism.
The term is used in the study of religion and culture. Myths are accounts of gods or superhuman beings and extraordinary events or circumstances in a time that is altogether different from ordinary human experience.
A story by which some "we" understands its identity and purpose.
The word myth, in popular usage, refers to something that is widely believed to be true but probably is not. Myths are used by some cultures to explain their existence and also provide rationale for religious beliefs and practices. A myth is some kind of interpretation of the world by a person or a culture that truly believe in it. Myths often involve gods and heroes. See also Some Views on Myth.
An imaginary story that helps explain events in nature.
Legendary narrative, usually of gods and heroes, or a theme that expresses the ideology of a culture.
An ill-founded belief, usually based on limited experience, given uncritical acceptance by members of a group, especially in support of existing or traditional practices and institutions.
A story that attempts to explain events in nature by referring to supernatural causes, i.e., deities and gods, or spirits. Go back to top
A traditional story of unknown origin which tells of historical events and often explains a natural phenomenon or a cultural practice, belief, or institution.
A popular belief or story that has become associated with a person, institution, or occurrence, especially one considered to illustrate a cultural ideal.
A myth is a traditional, typically ancient story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that serves as a fundamental type in the worldview of a people. A myth may explain aspects of the natural world or delineate the psychology, customs, or ideals of society
a story that has been told and re-told for centuries and which seems rooted in universal human experiences that people want to re-experience in new forms again and again (your textbook describes myths as stories that are "more than true").
From the Greek muthos ("word" or "speech") a myth is a traditional story, usually focusing on the deeds of gods or heroes, often in explanation of some natural phenomenon, as in the eruption of a volcano or the origin of the Sun. Mythology often involves a cosmogony, which is an attempted explanation of the universe itself, of humankind, or a particular race or culture. It is held that there is an element of historical truth in myths and that mythical characters are often kings and other heroes who have been given the honor of deification (to be made a god). Through anthropology and psychoanalysis many scientists believe that mythology provides and explanation or justification for primitive peoples original social institutions.
We work to the gospel according to anthropologist Claud Lévi-Strauss:"The purpose of a myth is to provide a logical model capable of overcoming a contradiction." This can be shown diagrammatically by positioning two pairs of opposites: one pair as the cardinal points North to South, the other pair as East to West. If the right oppositions are chosen, two diagonal corners (NE and SW, or NW and SE) will evidence two ‘acceptedâ€(tm) cultural norms. The other two corners will thus demonstrate cultural contradictions. These two are the candidate ‘myth positionsâ€(tm). They pose the challenge of creating some form of ‘reconciliationâ€(tm) that can overcome the contradiction they express. A ‘brand mythâ€(tm) (ie the brand as such a ‘reconcilerâ€(tm)) provides an inherently powerful and dynamic form of brand positioning (see our conference paper, ‘The myth at the heart of the brandâ€(tm) for more details.)
(noun) A popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something or someone. (Can you think of an American one?)
a story or scriptural account that claims to reveal basic religious truths; a paradigmatic story
a traditional story, with an unknown author, based on history or nature and containing religious beliefs. Myths explain some phenomenon of nature, such as how the first people started. Myths usually tell about gods and goddesses.
is an anonymous tale emerging from the traditional beliefs of a culture or social unit. Myths use supernatural explanations for natural phenomena. They may also explain cosmic issues like creation and death. Collections of myths, known as mythologies, are common to all cultures and nations, but the best-known myths belong to the Norse, Roman, and Greek mythologies. Example: The story of Hercules is a Greek myth.
Something not true, fiction, or falsehood. A truth disguised and distorted.
Stories that explain the origins of current phenomena. They may be believed literally or figuratively, or as metaphorically moral truths about the workings of the world.
a traditional or legendary story usually concering some being or hero, event or natural phenomena.
story using imaginary places or characters
It is an adverbial function that limits the action of individuals within cultures to assure the purpose of the evolution of species.
an anonymous story designed to explain the mysteries of life, generally with larger than life awe-inspiring characters.
Mythology: a story, usually of teleological content, that relates not historical fact but historical "experience" of its writer or culture. It is not a chronicle of "what was or is" but a profound expression of "how things are." See Fictionalized History and Historicized Fiction.
Myth is a dark erotic fantasy story, and the first novel by English writer R. J. Dent.
