mythic

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin mȳthicus (“legendary”),^[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek μυθικός (muthikós),^[2][3][5][6] from μῦθος (mûthos, “myth”) and the suffix -ικός (-ikós).^[6][5] The OED takes it from the classical Latin form mȳthicos, used by Varro as recorded by Augustine, or directly from the Greek word,^[6] and compares Middle French mythique, recorded in 1570 in a translation of Augustine; the French word was borrowed again in the 19th century.^[6] It is related to myth.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or belonging to myths, based in myth: 1669, in Theophilus Gale's The Court of the Gentiles.^[6] Etymonline dates it to the 1660s,^[2] and the Shorter Oxford to the mid 17th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word has always been close to mythical, which Merriam-Webster dates from 1610 and which the OED records earlier than mythic;^[7][6] Merriam-Webster Unabridged and Collins treat mythic as a variant of mythical.^[7][8] The OED records a weakened sense, "incredible, fantastical",^[6] and the Shorter Oxford adds "widely idealized or misrepresented".^[3] Since 1974 it has also been used of a person revered as a myth, as in a biography of James Dean.^[6]

Timeline

• 1669 – of or belonging to myths; based in myth.^[6] Etymonline dates it to the 1660s.^[2]
• 1974 – revered as a myth.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of, relating to or found in myths; mythical: the mythic heroes of the early sagas.^[6][8][7]
2. Imaginary or invented; incredible or fantastic.^[8][7][6][3]
3. Revered or idealized as if a figure of myth; legendary.^[6][3]

Word family

• mythicize
• semimythic

Related words

• myth
• mythical
• mythology

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins