μυριάς

Pronunciation

• IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /myː.ri.ás/^[1]
• IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /my.riˈas/^[1]
• IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /my.riˈas/^[1]

Forms

μῡρῐᾰ́ς (mūriás) f (genitive μῡρῐᾰ́δος); third declension^[1] Boeotian μουριάς.^[2]

Etymology

It is derived from μυρίος (muríos, “countless; ten thousand”) with the suffix -άς.^[1][3][4] μυρίος has no etymology, according to Beekes.^[5] Wiktionary mentions links with a root for “damp”, as of the countless waves, or with μύρμηξ (múrmēx, “ant”), and Etymonline a root for “abundant”.^[5][1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Simonides and Herodotus use it for the number ten thousand.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

It was used in counting men, money (drachmas), and measures of corn.^[6][2] From Euripides on it also meant a countless multitude, and as an adjective “innumerable”.^[6][2] Archimedes and Diophantus used it as a unit of large numbers, with the “second myriad” for ten thousand times ten thousand.^[6][3]

The Septuagint and the New Testament use it for ten thousand and for countless hosts, especially of angels, with the apocalyptic “myriads of myriads” in Revelation.^[7][3] Through Late Latin myrias and French it gave English myriad (1550s).^[4]

Timeline

• 6th–5th century BC – Simonides uses it for ten thousand.^[6][8]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus counts men and corn in myriads.^[6][2][8]
• 5th century BC – Euripides uses it of a countless multitude.^[6][2][8]
• 3rd century BC – Archimedes uses it in calculating large numbers.^[6][3][8]
• 1st century AD – Revelation has “myriads of myriads”.^[3]
• 1550s – English myriad.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The number ten thousand, a myriad; of money, ten thousand drachmas.^[6][2]
2. (mathematics) A unit of ten thousand; the second myriad, a hundred million.^[6]
3. A countless number, a multitude.^[6][2][3]
4. (as adjective) Innumerable.^[6][2]

Word family

• μυριάκις (muriákis)
• μυριακισμυριοστός (muriakismuriostós)
• μυριάομαι (muriáomai)
• μυρίος (mūríos)
• μυριάκις (muriákis)

Related words

• English myriad

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
8. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge