myth
/mɪθ/ noun B1- A traditional story which embodies a belief regarding some fact or phenomenon of experience, and in which often the forces of nature and of the soul are personified; a sacred narrative regarding a god, a hero, the origin of the world or of a people, etc.
- Such stories as a genre. · Myth was the product of man's emotion and imagination, acted upon by his surroundings. (E. Clodd, Myths & Dreams (1885), 7, cited after OED)
- A commonly-held but false belief, a common misconception; a fictitious or imaginary person or thing; a popular conception about a real person or event which exaggerates or idealizes reality. · Scientists debunk the myth that gum stays in the human stomach for seven years.
- A person or thing held in excessive or quasi-religious awe or admiration based on popular legend · Father Flanagan was legendary, his institution an American myth. (Tucson (Arizona) Citizen, 20 September 1979, 5A/3, cited after OED)
- A person or thing existing only in imagination, or whose actual existence is not verifiable.
- An invented story, theory, or concept. · His story is a pure myth.
Plural myths
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On the afternoon of May 6, 1954, he prepared to challenge this enduring myth at a modest athletic facility in Oxford.
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