Mythuse

[poliphilo]

I wish they- by whom I mean journalists and politicians- wouldn't use "myth" to mean "falsehood" or "misconception". A myth isn't either of those things. It's a truth- but not a prosaic truth; it's a truth about the inner reality of things....

I'm not satisfied with that definition, but then the point of any word is that it stands for a quiddity that cannot be expressed adequately by any other words. There is no such thing as an exact synonym. A myth is a myth is a myth just as a rose is a rose is a rose. Accept no substitutes.

One good thing about it: if the misuse of the word occurs near the beginning of an article- or in a headline- you know you can stop reading right there.

Comments

[oakmouse]

Here here.

I like Sallust's definition of myth: "things that never happened, but always are".

[poliphilo]

Yes, that's excellent.