Today, the term myriad now signifies an immense quantity, with no specific number attached. However, historically it denoted “ten thousand”, much like million means “1,000,000”. The word originates from the French myriade, which is derived from Latin myrias, carrying the same meaning. This can be traced back to Ancient Greek myrios, which had a more abstract connotation. It could signify “infinite”, “countless”, or “boundless”, similar to how gazillion or bajillion are used informally in present-day English. The root of myrios is uncertain, but it is believed to come from the Proto-Indo-European term meue, which roughly translates to “push away” and is also the source of words like motility, motive, motif, promote, remote, among others. The usage of myriad in literature has been on the rise since its introduction in the mid-sixteenth century.
