My OCD is kicking in about this sentence fragment:
Suspended from the ceiling, and casting the only light in the room, were myriad
I usually use the noun form, and it seems odd to my ear when I hear the adjective form. I have never heard of the 10,000 meaning at all.
And I thought you were an Englishman Keith
To Wynona:
meaning - What is the correct usage of Usage Stack Exchange
Strong's Greek: 3461. μυριάς (murias) -- ten thousand, a myriad</title>And therein lies the rub, Cliff. Historical usage aside, if myriad specifically means 10,000, and I were using myriad instead . . .Myriad comes into English in the 16th century when the word originally means 10,000, a specific number. The word changed from referring to 10,000 of something, to meaning a countless number of something. When myriad first appeared in English, it was always plural and followed by of, such as many myriads of men.
"There were 10,000 people in the stands watching the Warriors beat the Cavs." should not be "There were a myriad of people in the stands watching the Warriors beat the Cavs." because proper English wouldn't say there were a 10,000 of people. Thus, proper English tells me that there were myriad (10,000) people watching.
That said, I know I'm not going to change the way it's used, but it bothers me all the same.
Even if there were a few thousand people watching, it would still seem to me that myriad would be used instead of a myriad of.
There certainly are a myriad of opinions on myriad.
Think I'll just stick to "A whole bunch of 'em!". Failed failure or not..........
Use a thesaurus and use an easier word(modern word)
adj innumerable
countless
endless
infinite
multiple
gobs
variable
heaping
immeasurable
incalculable
multitudinous
no end of
numberless
thousand-and-one
uncounted
untold
Myriad Of | Grammar GirlThe word myriad is derived from the Greek word for ten thousand and has long since come to mean “a whole bunch” or “an uncountable multitude,” so it's hard to argue that myriad is a good way to describe three or four songs. Various, a few, or many would probably be better choices.
"A Myriad of" or Just "Myriad"?
Another hot debate is whether it is correct to say, "The forest contains myriad species" or "The forest contains a myriad of species." You commonly hear "a myriad of" and just as commonly hear people railing that it should be simply "myriad" because the word is an adjective and essentially equivalent to a number. You wouldn't say "There are a ten thousand of species," so you shouldn't say "There are a myriad of species," so the argument goes.
Believe it or not, most language experts say that either way is fine. Myriad was actually used as a noun in English long before it was used as an adjective, and today it's considered both a noun and an adjective, which means it can be used with an a before it (as a noun) or without an a before it (as an adjective).
Nevertheless, if you choose to say or write "a myriad of," I must warn you that you'll encounter occasional but vehement resistance. You may want to print this page, laminate it, and carry it in your wallet as a defense.
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