μῦθος

See also: μύθος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Traditionally (Pokorny, Vasmer, etc.) grouped with Proto-Slavic *myslь (“idea, thought”), Lithuanian mausti (“to long for”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌿𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (maudjan, “to remind”), Sanskrit मिथ्या (mithyā, “false, spurious, illusory”), all of which point to Proto-Indo-European *mewHdʰ- (“to complain or care about something”). However, this is implicitly rejected by Beekes, according to whom there are no plausible comparanda; as usual, he tentatively assigns the word to Pre-Greek.

Other theories include:

• According to Frisk, of onomatopoeic origin, from μῡ (mū).
• Ernštedt (1953: 55-57) argues that it derived from Egyptian mdwt (“word, speech, affair”). If so, a cognate to Coptic ⲙⲉⲧ- (met-), and related to Coptic ⲙⲟⲩⲧⲉ (moute).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /mŷː.tʰos/ → /ˈmy.θos/ → /ˈmi.θos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /mŷː.tʰos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈmy.tʰos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈmy.θos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈmy.θos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.θos/

• Hyphenation: μῦ‧θος

Noun

μῦθος • (mûthos) m (genitive μῡ́θου); second declension

1. something said: word, speech, conversation
   • c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 11.561:

     ἀλλ’ ἄγε δεῦρο, ἄναξ, ἵν’ ἔπος καὶ μῦθον ἀκούσῃς

     all’ áge deûro, ánax, hín’ épos kaì mûthon akoúsēis

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 4.777:

     μῦθον, ὃ δὴ καὶ πᾶσιν ἐνὶ φρεσὶν ἤραρεν ἥμιν.

     mûthon, hò dḕ kaì pâsin enì phresìn ḗraren hḗmin.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   1. public speech
      • c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 1.358:

        ἔργον ἐποίχεσθαι· μῦθος δ’ ἄνδρεσσι μελήσει

        érgon epoíkhesthai; mûthos d’ ándressi melḗsei

        (please add an English translation of this quotation)

      • c. 750 BCE – 650 BCE, Hesiod, Works and Days 192
   2. (mostly in plural) talk, conversation
      • c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 4.214
      • c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 4.239
   3. advice, counsel, command, order, promise
      • c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 5.493:

        Ὣς φάτο Σαρπηδών, δάκε δὲ φρένας Ἕκτορι μῦθος·

        Hṑs pháto Sarpēdṓn, dáke dè phrénas Héktori mûthos;

        (please add an English translation of this quotation)

      • c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 7.358:

        οἶσθα καὶ ἄλλον μῦθον ἀμείνονα τοῦδε νοῆσαι.

        oîstha kaì állon mûthon ameínona toûde noêsai.

        (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   4. the subject of a speech or talk
      • c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 22.289
      • c. 415 BCE, Euripides, Electra 346
   5. a resolve, purpose, design, plan
      • c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 1.545
      • c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 3.140
      • c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 4.676
   6. saying, proverb
      • 458 BCE, Aeschylus, The Libation Bearers 314
   7. the talk of men, rumor, report, message
      • c. 445 BCE, Sophocles, Ajax 226
      • c. 445 BCE, Sophocles, Ajax 189
2. tale, story, narrative
   • c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 3.94
   • c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 4.324
   1. tale, legend, myth
      • 460 BCE – 430 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 2.45
      1. (in Attic prose) a legend of the early Greek times, before the dawn of history
         • 375 BCE, Plato, The Republic 330D
   2. a professed work of fiction, fable, such as those of Aesop
      • 375 BCE, Plato, The Republic 377A
      • 340 BCE, Aristotle, Meteorology 2.3.2
   3. the plot of a tragedy or comedy
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Poetics 6.8

Usage notes

The scholia on the Odyssey 21.71 says that μῦθος (mûthos) is Aeolic for μόθος (móthos), but compare μυθιήτης (muthiḗtēs). It is used there in the significance of "resolve, purpose".

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ μῦθος; τοῦ μῡ́θου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ μῦθος ho mûthos	τὼ μῡ́θω tṑ mū́thō	οἱ μῦθοι hoi mûthoi
Genitive	τοῦ μῡ́θου toû mū́thou	τοῖν μῡ́θοιν toîn mū́thoin	τῶν μῡ́θων tôn mū́thōn
Dative	τῷ μῡ́θῳ tōî mū́thōi	τοῖν μῡ́θοιν toîn mū́thoin	τοῖς μῡ́θοις toîs mū́thois
Accusative	τὸν μῦθον tòn mûthon	τὼ μῡ́θω tṑ mū́thō	τοὺς μῡ́θους toùs mū́thous
Vocative	μῦθε mûthe	μῡ́θω mū́thō	μῦθοι mûthoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Second declension of μῦθος; μῡ́θοιο / μῡ́θοο / μῡ́θου (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	μῦθος mûthos	μῡ́θω mū́thō	μῦθοι mûthoi
Genitive	μῡ́θοιο / μῡ́θοο / μῡ́θου mū́thoio / mū́thoo / mū́thou	μῡ́θοιῐ̈ν mū́thoiĭ̈n	μῡ́θων mū́thōn
Dative	μῡ́θῳ mū́thōi	μῡ́θοιῐ̈ν mū́thoiĭ̈n	μῡ́θοισῐ / μῡ́θοισῐν / μῡ́θοις mū́thoisĭ(n) / mū́thois
Accusative	μῦθον mûthon	μῡ́θω mū́thō	μῡ́θους mū́thous
Vocative	μῦθε mûthe	μῡ́θω mū́thō	μῦθοι mûthoi
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• αἰσχρομῡθέω (aiskhromūthéō)
• ἀκρῐτόμῡθος (akrĭtómūthos)
• ᾰ̓ληθόμῡθος (ălēthómūthos)
• ᾰ̓́μῡθος (ắmūthos)
• γλῠκύμῡθος (glŭkúmūthos)
• δῐκόμῡθος (dĭkómūthos)
• δολῐόμῡθος (dolĭómūthos)
• δολόμῡθος (dolómūthos)
• ἐγγαστρίμῡθος (engastrímūthos)
• εἰκαιομῡθέω (eikaiomūthéō)
• ἐκφερομῡθέω (ekpheromūthéō)
• ἐμπεδόμῡθος (empedómūthos)
• εὔμῡθος (eúmūthos)
• ἐχέμῡθος (ekhémūthos)
• ἠπῐόμῡθος (ēpĭómūthos)
• θελγεσῐ́μῡθος (thelgesĭ́mūthos)
• θρασύμῡθος (thrasúmūthos)
• ἰσχνομῡθέω (iskhnomūthéō)
• λῐγύμῡθος (lĭgúmūthos)
• μῡθηγορέω (mūthēgoréō)
• μῡθιστορῐ́ᾱ (mūthistorĭ́ā)
• μῡθογρᾰ́φος (mūthogrắphos)
• μῡθολέσχης (mūtholéskhēs)
• μῡθολογέω (mūthologéō)
• μῡθόλογος (mūthólogos)
• μῡθοπλᾰ́νος (mūthoplắnos)
• μῡθοπλάστης (mūthoplástēs)
• μῡθοπλόκος (mūthoplókos)
• μῡθοποιέω (mūthopoiéō)
• μῡθοποιός (mūthopoiós)
• μῡθουργέω (mūthourgéō)
• μῡθῳδός (mūthōidós)
• νηρῐτόμῡθος (nērĭtómūthos)
• πᾰρᾰμῡθέομαι (părămūthéomai)
• περισσόμῡθος (perissómūthos)
• ποικῐλόμῡθος (poikĭlómūthos)
• πολύμῡθος (polúmūthos)
• σεμνομῡθέω (semnomūthéō)
• σπουδαιόμῡθος (spoudaiómūthos)
• στῐχομῡθέω (stĭkhomūthéō)
• στοιχομῡθέω (stoikhomūthéō)
• τᾰχύμῡθος (tăkhúmūthos)
• ὑστερόμῡθος (husterómūthos)
• φῐλόμῡθος (phĭlómūthos)

Related terms

• μῡθᾰ́ρῐον (mūthắrĭon)
• μῡθέομαι (mūthéomai)
• μῡθεύω (mūtheúō)
• μῡθητής (mūthētḗs)
• μῡθιάζομαι (mūthiázomai)
• μῡθῐ́δῐον (mūthĭ́dĭon)
• μῡθῐ́ζω (mūthĭ́zō)
• μῡθῐήτης (mūthĭḗtēs)
• μῡθῐκός (mūthĭkós)
• μῡθόομαι (mūthóomai)
• μῡθῠ́δρῐον (mūthŭ́drĭon)
• μῡθώδης (mūthṓdēs)
• μῡθωδῐκός (mūthōdĭkós)

Descendants

• >? Greek: μύθος (mýthos)
• → English: myth, mythos
• → Hebrew: מִיתוֹס (mítos)
• → Latin: mȳthus
• → Spanish: mito
• → Italian: mito
• → Russian: миф (mif)
• → Ukrainian: міф (mif), міт (mit)

Further reading

• “μῦθος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “μῦθος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “μῦθος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891), A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• μῦθος in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001), A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• μῦθος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “μῦθος”, in Slater, William J. (1969), Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G3454 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910), English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • account idem, page 7.
  • allegory idem, page 25.
  • anecdote idem, page 29.
  • bruit idem, page 101.
  • description idem, page 214.
  • fable idem, page 299.
  • fame idem, page 304.
  • fiction idem, page 317.
  • legend idem, page 484.
  • lore idem, page 500.
  • myth idem, page 549.
  • narrative idem, page 551.
  • news idem, page 557.
  • parable idem, page 591.
  • report idem, page 697.
  • romance idem, page 720.
  • rumour idem, page 726.
  • saying idem, page 736.
  • story idem, page 821.
  • tale idem, page 854.
  • tidings idem, page 874.
  • tradition idem, page 885.
  • true idem, page 898.
  • word idem, page 987.
• μῦθος, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011