Meanings
nounmonomyth (plural monomyths)
plural monomyths
- human sciencesA cyclical journey or quest undertaken by a mythical hero.
Most male epics follow Joseph Campbell's monomyth pretty neatly; can we expect Barrett Browning to do the same? Is the monomyth a male construct, the “male-myth” rather than the unified myth that speaks for all, […]
2008, E. L. Risden, Heroes, Gods and the Role of Epiphany in English Epic Poetry, McFarland, →ISBN, page 143
Origin
From mono- + myth. Borrowed by Joseph Campbell from Finnegans Wake.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
monomyth. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monomyth
MLA
“monomyth.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monomyth. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “monomyth,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monomyth.
Source: monomyth on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.