Myr

/mɪr/ prefix

Definition

A prefix meaning 'ten thousand' or 'countless,' used in scientific terms like 'myriad.'

Etymology

From Greek myrios meaning 'countless' or literally 'ten thousand.' In ancient Greek, it represented the largest named number, beyond which quantities were considered infinite or uncountable.

Kelly Says

The Greeks chose ten thousand as their word for 'countless' because it was roughly the size of a complete army, representing the largest organized group most people could conceptualize. This is why Xenophon's famous work about Greek mercenaries is called 'Anabasis of the Ten Thousand.'

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.