Editing Myriad

{{short description|Order of magnitude name for 10,000}}
{{other uses}} 

In the context of numeric naming systems for [[powers of ten]], '''myriad''' is the quantity ten thousand ([[10,000]]). Idiomatically, in [[English language|English]], ''myriad'' is an adjective used to mean that a group of things has [[Indefinite and fictitious numbers|indefinitely large quantity]].<ref>''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', third edition, June 2003, ''s.v.'' '[http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/124538 myriad]'</ref>

{{Infobox Korean name
|title=Myriad
|hangul=만
|hanja={{linktext|萬||}}
|rr= man
|mr= man
| 
}} 

''Myriad'' derives from the [[ancient Greek]] for ten thousand ({{langx|grc|μυριάς|translit=myrias|label=none}}) and is used with this meaning in [[literal translation]]s from [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Latin]] or [[Sinospheric]] languages ([[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Japanese language|Japanese]], [[Korean language|Korean]], and [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]), and in reference to ancient [[Greek numerals]].

The term ''myriad'' is also used in the form "a myriad" for a 100 km × 100 km square (10,000 km²) the grid size of the British [[Ordnance Survey National Grid]] and the US [[Military Grid Reference System]]. It contains 100 [[Hectad (unit of area)|hectads]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

==History==
The [[Aegean numerals]] of the [[Minoans|Minoan]] and [[Mycenaean civilization]]s included a symbol composed of a circle with four dashes <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:100%">𐄫</span> to denote tens of thousands.<ref name=Verdan>{{cite web|url=http://www.dma.ens.fr/culturemath/histoire%20des%20maths/htm/Verdan/Verdan.htm|title=Systèmes numéraux en Grèce ancienne: description et mise en perspective historique|author=Samuel Verdan|date=20 Mar 2007|access-date=2 Mar 2011|language=fr|archive-date=2 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202054101/http://www.dma.ens.fr/culturemath/histoire%20des%20maths/htm/Verdan/Verdan.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In classical [[Greek numerals]], myriad was written as a capital [[mu (letter)|mu]]: '''Μ'''. To distinguish this numeral from letters, it was sometimes given an [[overbar]]: {{overline|M}}. Multiples were written above this sign. For example {{Greek numeral|45820000}} is 4,582×10,000 or 45,820,000. 

The etymology of ''myriad'' is uncertain. It has been variously connected to [[Proto-Indo-European|PIE]] ''*meu-'' ("damp") in reference to the waves of the sea and to Greek ''myrmex'' ({{lang|grc|μύρμηξ}}, "ant") in reference to their swarms.<ref>Schwartzman, Steven. ''The Words of Mathematics: An Etymological Dictionary of Mathematical Terms Used in English'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=SRw4PevE4zUC&pg=PA142 p. 142]. The Mathematical Assoc. of America, 1994.</ref>

In his ''[[Sand Reckoner]]'', [[Archimedes]] used "myriad myriad" ({{overline|MM}}, one hundred million) as the basis for a numeration system of large powers of ten, which he used to count grains of sand.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hirshfeld |first=Alan |title=Eureka Man: The Life and Legacy of Archimedes |date=8 September 2009 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn= |pages=57–60}}</ref>

==In English==
''Myriad'' may be used either as an [[adjective]] (there are myriad people outside) or as a [[noun]] (there is a myriad of people outside),<ref name=myriamwebster>Merriam-Webster Online. "[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/myriad Myriad]". 2013. Accessed 1 November 2013.</ref> but there are small differences. The former might imply that it is a diverse group of people whereas the latter usually does not.

Despite its usually meaning (a large, unspecified quantity), ''myriad'' is sometimes used in English to mean ten thousand although usually restricted to translation from other languages like [[ancient Greek]] and [[Chinese numerals|Chinese]] where quantities are grouped by 10,000. Such use permits the translator to remain closer to the original text and avoid unwieldy mentions of "tens of thousands". For example, "the original number of the crews supplied by the several nations I find to have been twenty-four myriads"<ref>[[Herodotus]]. ''[[The History of Herodotus]]'', VII.[https://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/hh/hh7180.htm 184]. Translation by G.C. Macaulay, 1890. Accessed 1 Nov 2013.</ref> and "What is the distance between one bridge and another? Twelve myriads of [[parasang]]s".<ref>Janowitz, Naomi. ''The Poetics of Ascent: Theories of Language in a Rabbinic Ascent Text'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=QBmjU8WsP6IC&pg=PA118 p. 118]. SUNY Press (New York), 1989. Accessed 1 November 2013.</ref>

==In European languages==
Most European languages include a variation of ''myriad'' with a similar meaning to the English word.

Additionally, the [[metric prefix|prefix]] ''[[myria-]]'' indicating multiplication times ten thousand (×10<sup>4</sup>), was part of the original [[metric system]] adopted by [[First French Republic|France]] in 1795.<ref>''L'Histoire Du Mètre'': "[http://histoire.du.metre.free.fr/fr/index.htm ''La Loi Du 18 Germinal An 3'']". 2005. Accessed 1 November 2013. {{in lang|fr}}</ref> Although it was not retained after the 11th [[Conférence générale des poids et mesures|CGPM conference]] in 1960, ''[[myriameter]]'' is sometimes still encountered as a translation of the [[Scandinavian mile]] ([[Swedish language|Swedish]]&nbsp;& [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]:&nbsp;''mil'') of {{convert|10|km|sp=us|2}}, or in some classifications of wavelengths as the adjective ''[[ultra-low frequency|myriametric]]''. The ''[[myriagramme]]'' (10&nbsp;kg) was a French approximation of the [[avoirdupois]] ''quartier'' of {{convert|25|lb|sp=us}} and the ''[[myriaton]]'' appears in [[Isaac Asimov]]'s ''[[Foundation and Empire|Foundation]]'' novel trilogy.

In [[modern Greek]], the word "myriad" is rarely used to denote 10,000, but a million is ''ekatommyrio'' ({{lang|el|εκατομμύριο}}, ''lit.'' 'hundred myriad') and a [[1 E9|thousand million]] is ''disekatommyrio'' ({{lang|el|δισεκατομμύριο}}, ''lit.'' 'twice hundred myriad').

==In East Asian languages==
{{see also|Chinese numerals|Japanese numerals|Korean numerals|Vietnamese numerals|Khmer numerals}}
In [[East Asian culture|East Asia]], the traditional numeral systems of [[Chinese numerals|China]], [[Korean numerals|Korea]], and [[Japanese numerals|Japan]] are all [[decimal]]-based but grouped into ten thousands rather than thousands. The [[Chinese character|character]] for myriad is {{lang|zh|{{linktext|萬}}}} in [[traditional characters|traditional]] script and {{lang|zh|{{linktext|万}}}} in [[simplified characters|simplified]] form in both [[Simplified Chinese character#Mainland China|mainland China]] and [[Japanese script reform|Japanese]]; its pronunciation varies between languages ([[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]]: ''wàn'', [[Hakka language|Hakka]]: ''wan''<sup>5</sup>, [[Minnan language|Minnan]]: ''bān'', [[Cantonese language|Cantonese]]: ''maan''<sup>6</sup>, [[Japanese language|Japanese]] and [[Korean language|Korean]]: ''man'', [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]: ''vạn'', [[Thai language|Thai]]: หมื่น ''muen'' and [[Khmer language|Khmer]]: ម៉ឺន ''meun'').{{cn|date=November 2023}}

Because of this grouping into fours, higher orders of numbers are provided by the [[power (math)|powers]] of 10,000 rather than 1,000: In China, 10,000<sup>2</sup> was {{lang|zh|{{linktext|萬萬}}}} in ancient texts but is now called {{lang|zh|{{linktext|億}}}} and sometimes written as 1,0000,0000; 10,000<sup>3</sup> is 1,0000,0000,0000 or {{lang|zh|{{linktext|兆}}}}; 10,000<sup>4</sup> is 1,0000,0000,0000,0000 or {{lang|zh|{{linktext|京}}}}; and so on. Conversely, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean generally do not have native words for powers of one thousand: what is called "one million" in English is "100{{lang|zh|萬}}" (100 myriad) in the [[Sinosphere]], and "one billion" in English is "{{lang|zh|十億}}" (ten [[-yllion|myllion]]) or "{{lang|zh|十萬萬}}" (ten myriad myriad) in the Sinosphere. Unusually, Vietnam employs its former translation of {{lang|zh|兆}}, ''một triệu'', to mean 1,000,000 rather than the Chinese figure. Similarly, the Chinese government has adapted the word {{lang|zh|兆}} to mean the scientific prefix [[mega-]], but transliterations are used instead for [[giga-]], [[tera-]], and other larger prefixes. This has caused confusion in areas closely related to China such as [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]], where {{lang|zh|兆}} is still largely used to mean 10,000<sup>3</sup>.{{cn|date=November 2023}}

{{lang|zh|萬}} and {{lang|zh|万}} are also frequently employed colloquially in expressions, [[cliché]]s, and ''[[chengyu]]'' (idioms) in the senses of "vast", "numerous", "numberless", and "infinite". A [[skeleton key]] is a {{lang|zh|{{linktext|万|能|钥|匙}}}} ("myriad-use key"),<ref>Nciku.com. "[http://www.nciku.com/search/all/examples/%E4%B8%87%E8%83%BD%E9%92%A5%E5%8C%99 万能钥匙]". Accessed 1 November 2013.</ref> the [[emperor of China|emperor]] was the "lord of myriad [[chariot]]s" ({{lang|zh|萬乘之主}}),<ref>Wai Keung Chan, Timothy.<!--sic--> ''Considering the End: Mortality in Early Medieval Chinese Poetic Representation'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=iQgyAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA23 23]. Brill, 2012. Accessed 1 November 2013.</ref> the [[Great Wall]] is called {{lang|zh|{{linktext|万|里|长|城}}}} ("Myriad-[[Chinese mile|mile]] Long Wall"), [[Zhu Xi]]'s statement {{lang|zh|{{linktext|月|映|万|川}}}} ("the moon reflects in myriad rivers") had the sense of supporting greater [[empiricism]] in [[Chinese philosophy]],<ref>Chen Derong. ''Metaphorical Metaphysics in Chinese Philosophy'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=Xt0iFhh0pAgC&pg=PA29 p. 29]. Lexington Books (Lanham, MD), 2011. Accessed 1 November 2013.</ref> and Ha Qiongwen's popular 1959 [[Propaganda in the People's Republic of China|propaganda poster]] {{lang|zh|{{linktext|毛|主席|万岁}}}}, meaning "Long live [[Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China)|Chairman]] [[Mao Zedong|Mao]]", literally reads as "[May] Chairman Mao [live to be] [[Ten thousand years|10,000 years old]]".<ref>Yeh Wen-hsin & al. ''Visualizing China, 1845–1965: Moving and Still Images in Historical Narratives'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=iSEyAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA416 pp. 416 ff.] Brill, 2012. Accessed 1 November 2013.</ref> Its literary use may thus mean something huge and plentiful.<ref name=":Zhu">{{Cite book |last=Zhu |first=Tao |title=Red Legacies in China: Cultural Afterlives of the Communist Revolution |date=2016 |publisher=[[Harvard University Asia Center]] |isbn=978-0-674-73718-1 |editor-last=Li |editor-first=Jie |series=Harvard Contemporary China Series |volume= |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |chapter=Building Big With No Regret: From Beijing's "Ten Great Buildings" in the 1950s to China's Megaprojects Today |doi= |jstor= |editor-last2=Zhang |editor-first2=Enhua}}</ref>{{Rp|page=60}}

==In old Turkic==
A similar term is the [[Old Turkic]] word ''[[tumen (unit)|tümän]]'',<ref>
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language – [http://www.bartleby.com/61/61/T0256150.html ''toman''] {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071209014112/http://www.bartleby.com/61/61/T0256150.html |date= 2007-12-09 }}</ref> whose variant forms remain in use for "ten thousand" among modern [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]].<ref>Vietze, ''Wörterbuch Mongolisch – Deutsch'', VEB 1988</ref><ref>[https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledge-bank-article/the_silk_road_and_the_korean_language.pdf The Silk Road And The Korean Language]</ref> According to Sir [[Gerard Clauson]] (1891–1974), it was likely borrowed from [[Tocharian language|Tokharian]] ''tmān'', which may have been borrowed in turn from [[Old Chinese]] ''tman'' 萬 > ''wan''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Clauson|first=Gerard|year=1972|title=An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-Thirteenth-Century Turkish|publisher=Oxford, Clarendon Press|page=507|isbn=0198641125}}</ref>

==In Hebrew==

In [[Hebrew]] the word רבבה (pronounced "revava") means 10,000, and is the highest number represented in Hebrew. Its sources go back to biblical times.<ref>[[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 24 60</ref> Its usage became very rare after the 19th century. The term 60 ריבוא ("60 ribo"), which literally stands for 600,000 is used several times in the bible to denote "a very large undefinitive number".{{cn|date=November 2023}}

==See also==
{{wikt-inline|myriad}}
*{{Annotated link|-yllion}}
*{{Annotated link|Indian numbering system}}
*{{Annotated link|Long and short scale}}
*{{Annotated link|Names of large numbers}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Integers]]
[[Category:Units of amount]]
[[Category:10000 (number)]]
[[Category:Quantity]]