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Myth and Urban Myth
For a word so often applied to events or stories from long, long ago, myth has a remarkably recent history in the English language. The earliest evidence for the word is from 1830, well after the time when the events themselves are thought to have occurred (though it should be noted that the related words mythology and mythic are hundreds of years older – still not as old as Achilles, but not young, either!). One application of myth, however – in the phrase urban myth – is quite new. Curiously, an urban myth does not usually have anything to do with the city: it is simply “a story about an unusual event or occurrence that many people believe is true but that is not true.” An example would be the tale that Elvis Presley is still alive after spending decades in a witness protection program. The phrase urban myth has been used to describe such hoaxes since at least 1971.
Examples of myth in a Sentence
Leah Sarnoff, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2024
Russia fights only defensive wars, people assured themselves, a myth cultivated since Soviet times.
—Sarah A. Topol, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2024
The myth of the Phillips curve as a trade off between unemployment and inflation was born during the ideological struggles of the 70s.
—Vipin Bharathan, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
Hadestown is based on the 2010 concept album adapting the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice by folk singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell, who then went on to create the show’s music, lyrics and book.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 17 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for myth 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'myth.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Myth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/myth. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
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myth
noun
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