μυρίος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Origin uncertain. It may be related to either Proto-Indo-European *mew- (“damp”) (as in 'flowing' like the countless waves of the sea) or μύρμηξ (múrmēx, “ant”) (like a countless swarm).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /myː.rí.os/ → /myˈri.os/ → /miˈri.os/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /myː.rí.os/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /myˈri.os/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /myˈri.os/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /myˈri.os/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /miˈri.os/

Adjective

μῡρῐ́ος • (mūríos) m (feminine μῡρῐ́ᾱ, neuter μῡρῐ́ον); first/second declension

1. numberless, countless, infinite
   1. (poetic) measureless, immense, infinite
   2. (of time) endless
   3. (adverbial, in neuter plural) much, immensely, incessantly
      1. (adverbial, singular dative) infinitely
2. (as a definite numeral, in the plural) ten thousand, the greatest number expressed in Ancient Greek as a single word

Usage notes

According to the Grammarians μυρίος (muríos) (paroxytonic) is the indefinite form, and μύριος (múrios) (proparoxytonic) is the definite form. However, this distinction is not observed in the manuscripts.

Inflection

First and second declension of μῡρῐ́ος; μῡρῐ́ᾱ; μῡρῐ́ον (Attic)

Number		Singular				Dual				Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		μῡρῐ́ος mūríos	μῡρῐ́ᾱ mūríā	μῡρῐ́ον mūríon		μῡρῐ́ω mūríō	μῡρῐ́ᾱ mūríā	μῡρῐ́ω mūríō		μῡρῐ́οι mūríoi	μῡρῐ́αι mūríai	μῡρῐ́ᾰ mūría
Genitive		μῡρῐ́ου mūríou	μῡρῐ́ᾱς mūríās	μῡρῐ́ου mūríou		μῡρῐ́οιν mūríoin	μῡρῐ́αιν mūríain	μῡρῐ́οιν mūríoin		μῡρῐ́ων mūríōn	μῡρῐ́ων mūríōn	μῡρῐ́ων mūríōn
Dative		μῡρῐ́ῳ mūríōi	μῡρῐ́ᾳ mūríāi	μῡρῐ́ῳ mūríōi		μῡρῐ́οιν mūríoin	μῡρῐ́αιν mūríain	μῡρῐ́οιν mūríoin		μῡρῐ́οις mūríois	μῡρῐ́αις mūríais	μῡρῐ́οις mūríois
Accusative		μῡρῐ́ον mūríon	μῡρῐ́ᾱν mūríān	μῡρῐ́ον mūríon		μῡρῐ́ω mūríō	μῡρῐ́ᾱ mūríā	μῡρῐ́ω mūríō		μῡρῐ́ους mūríous	μῡρῐ́ᾱς mūríās	μῡρῐ́ᾰ mūría
Vocative		μῡρῐ́ε mūríe	μῡρῐ́ᾱ mūríā	μῡρῐ́ον mūríon		μῡρῐ́ω mūríō	μῡρῐ́ᾱ mūríā	μῡρῐ́ω mūríō		μῡρῐ́οι mūríoi	μῡρῐ́αι mūríai	μῡρῐ́ᾰ mūría
Derived forms		Adverb				Comparative				Superlative
		μῡρῐ́ως mūríōs				μῡρῐώτερος mūriṓteros				μῡρῐώτᾰτος mūriṓtatos
Notes:		This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Synonyms

• (immense): πολύς (polús)

Derived terms

• μῡρῐόφθᾰλμος (mūrióphthalmos)
• μῡρῐᾰ́ς (mūriás)

 

Further reading

• “μυρίος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “μυρίος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “μυρίος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• μυρίος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• μυρίος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “μυρίος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • boundless idem, page 91.
  • countless idem, page 178.
  • huge idem, page 409.
  • illimitable idem, page 416.
  • immeasurable idem, page 417.
  • immense idem, page 417.
  • incalculable idem, page 427.
  • infinite idem, page 438.
  • limitless idem, page 492.
  • many idem, page 513.
  • measureless idem, page 521.
  • much idem, page 545.
  • multitudinous idem, page 546.
  • numberless idem, page 563.
  • unfathomable idem, page 918.
  • unlimited idem, page 924.
  • unmeasured idem, page 925.
  • unnumbered idem, page 926.
  • untold idem, page 935.
  • vast idem, page 945.