Prawn Connery
Well-Known Member
I'm going to have to agree that myriad used as a noun in Beefbisquit's case was not incorrect usage. Although many grammar sites still note it is more accurate to use it as an adjective in modern-day usage.
And while "myriad" is a collective noun - in both noun definitions ("ten thousand" or "countless/innumerable") - there's nothing in modern grammar to say it can't also be used as a plural. Although using it as a plural in such cases would appear to be redundant.
However . . . it's also worth pointing out that it's use as a noun in modern English is pretty rare these days and a look at any newspaper style guide shows it hasn't officially been used as such for a long time.
The word is evolving to the point where the noun may already be archaic - as evidenced by the fact it has been around a lot longer than the adjective, and that the adjective is a lot more commonly used nowadays. We don't use the words "thy", "thine" and "thou" any more . . . but strictly speaking, they're still proper words and can still be used in modern English. Though no-one does.
And while "myriad" is a collective noun - in both noun definitions ("ten thousand" or "countless/innumerable") - there's nothing in modern grammar to say it can't also be used as a plural. Although using it as a plural in such cases would appear to be redundant.
However . . . it's also worth pointing out that it's use as a noun in modern English is pretty rare these days and a look at any newspaper style guide shows it hasn't officially been used as such for a long time.
The word is evolving to the point where the noun may already be archaic - as evidenced by the fact it has been around a lot longer than the adjective, and that the adjective is a lot more commonly used nowadays. We don't use the words "thy", "thine" and "thou" any more . . . but strictly speaking, they're still proper words and can still be used in modern English. Though no-one does.