Etymology and origin of the Latin word mythologicus
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Borrowing
- First attested
- c. 500 Fulgentius More words from the 5th century
- Borrowed from
- Ancient Greek μυθολογικός
- Ultimate origin
- Ancient Greek μυθολογικός
Forms
mȳthologicus (feminine mȳthologica, neuter mȳthologicum); first/second-declension adjective[1]
Etymology
It is borrowed from Ancient Greek μυθολογικός (muthologikós).[2][1][3] The Greek adjective comes from μυθολογία (muthología, “mythology”).[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Lewis & Short call it Late Latin and point to Fulgentius,[2] of about AD 500,[4] whose work on the myths has the title Mythologicon, also known as the Mythologiarum liber.[2]
Semantic evolution
Used in the neuter plural as a noun, mȳthologica meant mythological matters.[2] English mythological is from the Late Latin word, first recorded in the 1610s.[3]
Timeline
- c. 500 AD – Fulgentius' Mythologicon is titled with it.[2][4]
- 1610s – Borrowed into English as mythological.[3]
Meanings
Adjective
- Of mythology, mythological.[2][1]
- (neuter plural as noun) Mythological matters.[2]
Related words
- mythologia
- mythicus
References
- ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Related etymologies
- -inus · also from Greek
- -eus · also from Greek
- patriarcha · also from Greek
- microscopium · also from Greek
- arteria · also from Greek
- anachoreta · also from Greek
- alleluia · also from Greek
- palladium · also from Greek
Cite this entry
“Mythologicus.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/mythologicus. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.
Last edited on . ·