Myriad

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈmɪɹiad/, /ˈmɪɹɪəd/
• US IPA: /ˈmɪ.ɹi.æd/, /ˈmɪ.ɹi.É™d/

Origin

From French myriade, from Late Latin myriadis (genitive of myrias), from Ancient Greek μυριάδος, genitive of μυριάς (myrias, "number of 10,000"), from μυρίος (myrios, "numberless, countless, infinite").

Full definition of myriad

Noun

1. (now historical) Ten thousand; 10,000 from 16th c.
2. A countless number or multitude (of specified things) from 16th c.Earth hosts a myriad of animals.

Usage notes

Used as an adjective (see below), 'myriad' requires neither an article before it nor a preposition after. Because of this, some consider the usage described in sense 2 above, where 'myriad' acts as part of a nominal (or noun) group (that is, "a myriad of animals"), to be tautological.

Adjective

1. (modifying a singular noun) Multifaceted, having innumerable elements from 18th c.
• 1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Vintage 1993, p. 131:one night he would be singing at the barred window and yelling down out of the soft myriad darkness of a May night; the next night he would be gone ....
• 2011 April 6–19, Kara Krekeler, "Researchers at Washington U. have 'itch' to cure problem", West End Word, 40 (7), p. 8:"As a clinician, it's a difficult symptom to treat," Cornelius said. "The end symptom may be the same, but what's causing it may be myriad."
2. (modifying a plural noun) Great in number; innumerable, multitudinous from 18th c.Earth hosts myriad animals.
• 2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, "London Is Special, but Not That Special," New York Times (retrieved 28 September 2013)Driven by a perceived political need to adopt a hard-line stance, Mr. Cameron’s coalition government has imposed myriad new restrictions, the aim of which is to reduce net migration to Britain to below 100,000.