urban legend
noun
a modern story of obscure origin and with little or no supporting evidence that spreads spontaneously in varying forms and often has elements of humor, moralizing, or horror: Are there alligators living in the New York City sewer system, or is that just an urban legend?
QUIZZES
DISCOVER THE INFLUENCE OF PORTUGUESE ON ENGLISH VIA THIS QUIZ!
We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?
Question 1 of 11
Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?
Also called urban myth .
Origin of urban legend
First recorded in 1970–75
Words nearby urban legend
urbanite, urbanity, Urban IV, urbanization, urbanize, urban legend, urban myth, urbanology, urban renewal, urban sociology, urban sprawl
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021