Word of the Day

Myriad (origin, Greek)

The word myriad can be used as both an adjective, and a noun. How peculiar. As an adjective, it is used as thus:

As an adjective:

1. Constituting a very large, indefinite number; innumerable: the myriad fish in the ocean.
2. Composed of numerous diverse elements or facets: the myriad life of the metropolis.

As a noun:

1. A large indefinite number; "he faced a myriad of details"
2. The cardinal number that is the product of ten and one thousand

I've always used the word as a noun, but now I can grammatically and correctly use it as an adjective too. If you enjoy hyperbole and word play, try using the noun and adjective together, like Samuel Taylor Coleridge once did in his poetery: “Myriad myriads of lives.”