Etymologically
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myriad

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈmɪɹi.əd/, /ˈmɪɹi.æd/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French myriade and Late Latin myrias,[2][3] from Ancient Greek μυριάς (muriás, “ten thousand”),[4][2][3][5][6] from mūríos “countless”,[4][2][3][5] a word of unknown origin.[3] Ten thousand was the largest number in Greek expressed by a single word.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The number ten thousand, and countless numbers (1555).[7][2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The precise sense “ten thousand” is used mainly in translations from Greek or Latin.[7][3] The adjective “innumerable” is dated to 1765 by Merriam-Webster[5] and to about 1800 by Etymonline and Barnhart.[3][2]

Timeline

  • 1555 – ten thousand; countless numbers.[7][2][3][5]
  • 1765 – adjective, innumerable.[5]
  • about 1800 – adjective, per Etymonline and Barnhart.[3][2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Too many to count; innumerable.
  2. Having countless different aspects or elements.

Noun

  1. A vast number, as in a myriad of ideas.
  2. Ten thousand.

Word family

  • myriadly

Usage notes

The noun is older than the adjective.[5][4] The American Heritage Dictionary notes that adjectival use, which began in the 19th century, became so established that some people wrongly came to think it the only correct one; both uses are justified, since Greek murias could be noun or adjective.[4] Merriam-Webster likewise sees no reason to avoid myriads or a myriad of, which occur in Milton and Thoreau.[5]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press