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Discussion Groups / English Usage / May 2009Myriad Something / Myriad of Something
In the Irish Catholic sex/physical abuse scandal, for some reason the word "myriad" keeps appearing. One article, "Ireland's myriad religious orders, much like their mother church, [....]" Another article, "[....] but at least it has survived the myriad legal and political challenges [....]" Another, "Many have found a myriad of ways to remain in denial. Just a few bad apples, they say. [....]" Another, "The Ryan report cites a myriad of serious charges [....]" Okay, 2 for "of", 2 for none. Which is correct? I think that myriad is a synonym for "many", and thus "of" doesn't belong. Or does myriad really mean "an assortment", for which "of" is correct? Sorry, you folks covered this topic less than a year ago. I guess the conclusion was that both uses are correct. In article <8a9d380f-eed8-454c-a56f-0c49ce13b396@k19g2000prh.googlegroups.com>, > Sorry, you folks covered this topic less than a year ago. I guess the > conclusion was that both uses are correct. I didn't see what was posted a year ago. So here I go, sticking my head in the lion's mouth perhaps: "Myriad" is Greek for 10,000. That suggests to me that "Ireland's myriad religious orders, much like their mother church, [....]" is the way to go and "The Ryan report cites a myriad of serious charges [....]" shows ignorance and is incorrect. >In article ><8a9d380f-eed8-454c-a56f-0c49ce13b396@k19g2000prh.googlegroups.com>, [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > >shows ignorance and is incorrect. The senses and uses of "myriad", noun and adjective, are no longer limited to its original meaning of "10,000". The phrase "a myriad of" seems to be included in sense A.2b below. OED: myriad, n. and adj. A. n. 1. a. Chiefly Ancient Hist. Ten thousand; a set of ten thousand of anything; esp. a unit of ten thousand soldiers. Principally in translations from Greek or Latin, or with reference to the numbering system of ancient Greece. {dag}b. Ten thousand of a particular monetary unit (inferred from the context). Obs. 2. a. In pl. Countless numbers of people or things; legions, hosts, hordes of the persons or things specified. b. In sing. A countless number of specified things. 3. a. In pl. Countless multitudes, hosts (with the objects intended inferred from the context). b. In sing. A countless multitude, a throng. c. by myriads: in uncountably large numbers. d. in myriads: in countless numbers. B. adj. (chiefly attrib.). 1. a. Modifying a singular noun, usually one with collective or abstract meaning: having or consisting of countless elements, aspects, phases, etc.; innumerable, uncountable. b. Modifying a plural noun: existing in huge numbers; countless, innumerable. Also occas. in predicative use. c. With indefinite article, modifying a plural noun: = sense A. 1b. 2. Chiefly Ancient Hist. Modifying a numeral: ten thousand (cf. sense A. 1a). rare.  SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.english.usage) > >In article > ><8a9d380f-eed8-454c-a56f-0c49ce13b396@k19g2000prh.googlegroups.com>, [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > The senses and uses of "myriad", noun and adjective, are no longer > limited to its original meaning of "10,000". Sure. i didn't mean to imply that, in English usage, we are obliged to limit ourselves to 10,000. Many times, a foreign word is imported and quickly gains a new or modified meaning. I spend most of my time in Russia. There are ahem myriad examples of this. For example, what I call "lettuce", the Russians call "salad". > The phrase "a myriad of" seems to be included in sense A.2b below. I'm not as sure as you are. I would have agreed if the OED had exactly used the word in such a sentence. > OED: > [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > 2. Chiefly Ancient Hist. Modifying a numeral: ten thousand (cf. > sense A. 1a). rare. >> >In article >> ><8a9d380f-eed8-454c-a56f-0c49ce13b396@k19g2000prh.googlegroups.com>, [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] >I'm not as sure as you are. I would have agreed if the OED had exactly >used the word in such a sentence. I omitted all quotations. Here are some from the A.2b section: 1609 A. CRAIG Poet. Recreations sig. A4v, Thus feeling ill, and fearing worse each day, A miriad of mis-fortunes I embrace. .... 1828 J. STERLING Ess. & Tales (1848) II. 4 The wide and gleaming river..fleckered with a myriad of keels. 1850 F. W. ROBERTSON Serm. 3rd Ser. x. 124 A myriad of different universes. .... 1940 V. K. ZWORYKIN & G. A. MORTON Television vi. 194 If the noise is appreciable compared with the picture signal, it appears in the reproduction as a myriad of constantly changing bright specks. 1961 B. JAMES Night of Kill (1963) ix. 104 The hour which, like a spade turning clods of earth, exposed to the day a myriad of busy creatures that had laid dormant in the quiet night. 1987 Observer 20 Sept. 46/4 A myriad of small, specialist software companies have also been spawned in the new sunrise high-tech areas. >> OED: >> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >> b. In sing. A countless number of specified things. >> SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.english.usage) |
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