tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7088266383394282353.post3394093322919338812..comments2023-09-22T02:25:34.394-05:00Comments on Postalatry: New Word: Restaurateursxoidmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622946839908244709noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7088266383394282353.post-2235510617349381312009-09-14T18:13:32.799-05:002009-09-14T18:13:32.799-05:00Actually "myriad" originally meant a spe...Actually "myriad" originally meant a specific large number (10,000, according to Wikipedia) but was also used in antiquity with some poetic license to designate any uncountably large quantity - the latter sense being the one that survives. In any case, the choice of whether or not to use a preposition seems open to choice... In english we say "a dozen eggs" or "a gross of sandwiches", even though both refer to specific numbers.<br /><br />By a weird coincidence I found all this out this morning after reading an interesting passage in Dawkins' "The Ancestor's Tale" where he talks about a scuttling horde of insects saying something along the lines of "a myriad bodies and six myriad legs". The sort of phrasing only an Oxford professor can get away with.K. Signal Einganghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11662713010603845622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7088266383394282353.post-35833870763588357082009-09-14T13:12:52.743-05:002009-09-14T13:12:52.743-05:00You know, in college, I once had a creative writin...You know, in college, I once had a creative writing teacher correct my usage of "metamorphosed." He thought the correct word was "metamorphosized," and I don't think that's even a word, although I see it all the time. Another mistake I see often is using "myriad" with "of." Myriad means many, so you would say "myriad ways" instead of "a myriad of ways." It just bugs me that people don't look up things, so I'm glad you took the initiative to investigate.Vanessahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03245054036593557540noreply@blogger.com