myria-, myrio-, myri-

A reference to that which has numerous, or countless, spines or spine-like growths: In the fantasy book Kitty was enjoying, she read about a myriacanth creature with innumerable spikes on its back and neck!

Descriptive of an organism having numerous spines, or sharp points: Certain fishes, like rays, in the genus Myriacanthus are myriacanthous because they typically have a myriad of knifelike points.

1. A form of a bizarre repetitive and widespread habit spasm affecting many members of a community, often in an imitative way: "Myriachit has been described as a peculiar disorder in Java, Borneo, and in parts of Russia in which the patient mimics everything done or said by another person."

2. Etymology: Russian, "to be epileptic"; from Greek myrios, "countless".

1. Made up of many different components: The Earth has a myriad of animals in its global ecological system.
2. A vast number; a very great or indefinitely great number of people or things: Mike discovered the myriads of bees in the hives of his garden.
3. Etymology: Myriad has been used as a noun ever since its introduction into English in the mid-16th century. It was ultimately borrowed from a Greek word meaning "ten thousand", and from a Greek adjective meaning "countless".

Recent criticism of the use of myriad as a noun, both in the plural form myriads and in the phrase "a myriad of", seems to reflect a mistaken belief that the word was originally and is still properly only an adjective.

The noun is in fact the older form, dating to the 16th century.

The noun myriad has appeared in the works of such writers as Milton (plural myriads) and Thoreau (a myriad of), and it continues to occur frequently in acceptable English. There is no reason to avoid it.

In fact, from the 16th to the 19th century, the English noun was used to mean "ten thousand", primarily in translations from Greek or Latin, or in reference to the Greek numerical system.

The noun is used in both the singular (a myriad of voices) and in the plural (the myriads of voices; the voices of myriads).

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Since myriad seems to be used in the picture more as an adjective instead of a noun, would it be more accurate for the character in the cartoon to be saying: "I have a myriad of doubts about the legality of our business contract!!" or "I have myriads of doubts about the legality of our business contract!!"?

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1. A large number or very many: Karl was told that the model car he was looking at comes in myriad colors.
2. So many that they cannot be counted: The myriad stars are impossible to count.

The fishermen saw myriad fish in the ocean.

3. Composed of numerous and diverse elements or groups: The politician was amazed by the myriad nationalities of people who were living in the city.
4. Etymology: at the beginning of the 19th century, myriad started its life as an adjective meaning "countless, innumerable", but it was used mostly in poetry or in poetic prose. © ALL rights are reserved.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more Mickey Bach illustrations.

Descriptive of being gifted with much versatility and extreme mental power: "Allen has been characterized as having an abnormal myriad-minded quantity of mental skills."

Outdated, a unit of measure equivalent to 10,000 grams or ten kilograms; myg: The myriagram used to be used during the 19th century as a substitute for the formerly accepted American system of "quarter", or 25% of something.

A metric measure of capacity, containing ten thousand liters.

It is equal to 2,642 United States gallons.

A unit of measure equivalent to 10,000 meters.

1. A class of arthropodous animals, comprising the centipedes and millipedes.
2. A member of the Myriapoda; a centipede or millipede.

A superclass of arthropods, including the classes Chilopoda (centipedes) and Diplopoda (millipedes).

A captain, or commander, of ten thousand men.

Government ruled by ten thousand rulers.

Having an indefinitely great or countless number of leaves.

1. A general term for any terrestrial arthropod having an elongated body composed of many similar segments; such as, "centipedes" and "millipedes".
2. Arthropods having the body composed of numerous double somites (actual or ideal serial segments) of which an animal is composed each with two pairs of legs: "millipedes".