Is this the proper use of the word, "myriad"?

Question

From an article I read today:

"...dealing with the myriad of types..."

I would edit this to read:

"...dealing with myriad types..."

Am I correct?

Please provide source

Thanks!

Answer 1

Technically, myriad with no "of" is more concise, and, I believe, the preferred usage. However, both ways of using

"myriad" are seen in print.



Fiske Word Power by Edward B. Fiske gives these two sentences on p.190:



Nothing can make an individual feel so small as to contemplate the myriad stars in the sky and to reflect on the distance the light has traveled to reach us.



Even people unfamiliar with much poetry may know William Wordsworth's poem about his delight after he "wandered lonely as a cloud," in coming upon a myriad of daffodils dancing in the breeze.



I have seen myriad examples of "myriad" used without "of", and to me it sounds better.



I think in the current usage, it comes down to what sounds better to your ear.

Dictionary.com used this as "word of the day" April 7, 2001.

Three of the four example sentences omitted the "of".

In "Woe Is I",

grammarian Patricia O'Conner writes,

"Avoid 'myriads' or 'a myriad of'."

I follow her advice.

Answer 2

Either usage is correct these days:



Myriad: As a noun, myriad means ten thousand, or a great number (a myriad of aircraft). In this case, you're not using myriad to modify: it's the subject. As an adjective, myriad means "having innumerable aspects or elements" (those myriad challenges - the myriad activity of the people - myriad butterflies). These days, the distinction is blurred, and we see quite a bit of "...a myriad of..."

Answer 3

During our elem. days, we used "myriads of" and it's only now that it's being used as "myriad;" "myriad of" is the correct one as when we say:



group of; bunch of; flock of; system of, lot of, load of

Answer 4

No the original is correct.

Answer 5

The second one sounds right.