Use of the word "myriad"

[Jackknifed_Juggernaut]

I’ve noticed that I see the word “myriad” used in this format: “There were myriad reasons for…”, as well as in this format: “There were a myriad of reasons for…”

The former always looked awkward to me, but IMO, it’s used more frequently than the latter. Are both correct and accepted?

[DianaG]

The former is correct. Someone will be along momentarily to tell me I’m wrong, but I’m not.

[Derleth]

The first is correct because ‘myriad’ isn’t countable: ‘Six myriads’ doesn’t make any sense. ‘Myriad’ is a synonym for ‘many’ but is more emphatic.

[Johnny_L.A]

@DianaG

The former is correct. Someone will be along momentarily to tell me I’m wrong, but I’m not.

Well, OK.

usage 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. As the entries here show, however, 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 reputable English. There is no reason to avoid it.

Having posted that, a myriad of sounds awkward to me, for myriad reasons.

[Omega_Glory]

They’re both correct, and the latter is the older version.

[Lobsang]

The original meaning is ‘Ten thousand’ in Greek. so saying “There were ten thousand of reasons for” is slightly less normal than saying “There were ten thousand reasons for”.

[Fuzzy_Dunlop]

@Lobsang

The original meaning is ‘Ten thousand’ in Greek. so saying “There were ten thousand of reasons for” is slightly less normal than saying “There were ten thousand reasons for”.

Except as Johnny L.A. pointed out, it was first used in English as a noun. So both usages are very old and equally correct but using it as a noun is more correct and older. If you actually use it to mean 10,000 outside of a discussion of Greek history nobody will understand you and you are communicating poorly.