my·thol·o·gy n., pl. my·thol·o·gies

2. The comparative study of folk knowledge and culture. Also called folkloristics.

3. (a.) A body of widely accepted but usually specious notions about a place, a group, or an institution: Rumors of their antics became part of the folklore of Hollywood. (b.) A popular but unfounded belief.

-folk'lor'ic adj. -folk'lor'ish adj.

-folk'lor'ist n. -folk'lor*is'tic adj.

1. (a.) A body or collection of myths belonging to a people and addressing their history, deities, ancestors, and heroes. (b.) A body of myths concerning an individual, event, or institution.

2. The field of scholarship dealing with myths.

[French mythologie, from Late Latin mythologia, from Greek muthologia, story-telling : muthos, story + -logia, -logy.]