myth

• n. 神话；虚构的人，虚构的事

来自希腊语mythos,想法，故事，神话，口口相传的传说，词源不详。可能来自某拟声词根mu,说话。比较其与mystery的词义区别。

myth (n.)

1830, from French Mythe (1818) and directly from Modern Latin mythus, from Greek mythos "speech, thought, story, myth, anything delivered by word of mouth," of unknown origin.

Myths are "stories about divine beings, generally arranged in a coherent system; they are revered as true and sacred; they are endorsed by rulers and priests; and closely linked to religion. Once this link is broken, and the actors in the story are not regarded as gods but as human heroes, giants or fairies, it is no longer a myth but a folktale. Where the central actor is divine but the story is trivial ... the result is religious legend, not myth." [J. Simpson & S. Roud, "Dictionary of English Folklore," Oxford, 2000, p.254]

General sense of "untrue story, rumor" is from 1840.

1. His exploration of the myth brings insight into the American psyche.

他对这个神话的探讨揭示了美国人的心理。

来自柯林斯例句

2. I have been working on exploding the myth of fixity of meaning.

我一直在致力于推翻有关意义恒定性的谬谈。

来自柯林斯例句

3. Rumour, myth and hearsay obscure the truth after months of bloodshed.

杀戮持续了数月后，真相在谣言、谎话和传闻的遮掩下变得模糊不清。

来自柯林斯例句

4. My mother colluded in the myth of him as the swanky businessman.

我母亲和别人串通，把他杜撰成一个阔气的商人。

来自柯林斯例句

5. The myth of Narcissus is described in Ovid's work.

有关那喀索斯的神话故事在奥维德的作品中有过描述。

来自柯林斯例句