mythologem

Meaning

Noun

• A basic core element, motif or theme of a myth.

Origin

• First used in 1949 by Carl Kerenyi in "Prologomena" (published in Science of mythology: Essays on the myth of the divine child and the mysteries of Eleusis, edited by C. G. Jung and C. Kerenyi). From Ancient Greek μῦθος; to tell mythical tales; mythos (myth) & -logos (word or speech).