Etymology From French myriade, from Late Latin mȳriadem (accusative of mȳrias), from Ancient Greek μυριάς (muriás, “number of 10,000”), from μυρίος (muríos, “numberless, countless, infinite”). By surface analysis, myria- + -ad.
Historical Synonym of decamillennium: a period of 10000 years.
3
A countless number or multitude (of specified things)
Earth hosts a myriad of animals.
O Myriads of immortal Spirits, O Powers / Matchleſs, but with th' Almighty, and that ſtrife / Was not inglorious, though th' event was dire,1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 622–624:
4 more examples
A myriad of beginnings to her intended discourse darted into her mind; but, as is usual in such cases, she chose the one the very worst suited to her purpose. "I never intend to marry," said she, in a faltering voice.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXIX, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 239:
I saw battle-corpses, myriads of them, / And the white skeletons of young men, I saw them, / I saw the debris and debris of all the slain soldiers of the war, […]1865, Walt Whitman, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, in Sequel to Drum-Taps: When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d and other poems:
How far he surpassed them all may be felt if we remember that no Scythian, although the Scythians are reckoned by their myriads, has ever succeeded in dominating a foreign nation ...1914, Henry Graham Dakyns, Xenophon, Cyropaedia, Book I:
His crude additions, especially the inclusion of Herr Barkheimer, turned the collection into something resembling an orgy, complete with a myriad of sex devices.2005, Annabelle du Fouet, “The murky world from whence it all came” (chapter 2), in Weather Balloons Make Rotten Sex Toys, Ellora's Cave, →ISBN, page 47:
Etymology From French myriade, from Late Latin mȳriadem (accusative of mȳrias), from Ancient Greek μυριάς (muriás, “number of 10,000”), from μυρίος (muríos, “numberless, countless, infinite”). By surface analysis, myria- + -ad.
1
Modifying a singular noun Multifaceted, having innumerable elements.
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 [...].1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Vintage, published 1993, page 131:
"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."2011 April 6–19, Kara Krekeler, "Researchers at Washington U. have 'itch' to cure problem", West End Word, 40 (7), p. 8
2
Modifying a plural noun Great in number; innumerable, multitudinous.
Earth hosts myriad animals.
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 100,000.2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, “London Is Special, but Not That Special”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 16 Jun 2022, retrieved 28 Sep 2013: