Myriad

The Myriad (in Greek, then in Latin ) is a number of 10,000 ( Greek: μυριάς - myrias ). The plural form myriads often is a innumerable amount (Greek μύριος - myrios: innumerable, infinite).

In modern Greek the myriad is still used in composite numbers. So say the million on Greek εκατομμύριο ( ekatommyrio ), there are one hundred myriads.

In the Chinese number system as well as in cultures ( Japanese and Korean number system ) that have this taken, is the myriad (Chinese万/万, Pinyin wan jap. / Kor. They ) is the largest elementary number word, and thus base number for specifying larger numbers. One hundred WAN thus correspond to the number that is called the Deutsches million. In these systems, this counting method is only possible. Today this tradition is connected with the Arabic numerals system. The numbers are large numbers in blocks while grouped into four digits - as opposed to blocks of three digits in most European languages. Therefore, also for Mehrsprachler not simply the simultaneous compiling large numbers, for example between Chinese and English.

Interesting is the fact that is also spoken in this culture in an unimaginably large number of WAN or Man, which can be translated with " thousands " in this case, as in the phrase " ten thousand years " (Japanese Banzai ).

The Myriad holds also in metaphors such as the upper ten thousand. The metaphor of the top ten thousand comes from the Bible: According to 2 Kings 24:14 ( 2 Kings 24:14 EU) the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC made ​​the top 10,000 of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judea into exile.