myth

Definitions

• 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.
• (uncountable) Such stories as a genre.
• 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.
• A person or thing held in excessive or quasi-religious awe or admiration based on popular legend
• A person or thing existing only in imagination, or whose actual existence is not verifiable.