different between myriad vs diverse

English

Etymology

From French myriade, from Late Latin myriadis (genitive of myrias), from Ancient Greek ???????? (muriádos), genitive of ?????? (muriás, “number of 10,000”), from ?????? (muríos, “numberless, countless, infinite”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /?m??i.æd/, /?m??i.?d/

Noun

myriad (plural myriads)

1. (historical) Ten thousand; 10,000 [from 16th c.]
2. A countless number or multitude (of specified things) [from 16th c.]
   • 1914, Henry Graham Dakyns, Xenophon, Cyropaedia, Book I:

     How far he surpassed them all may be felt if we remember that no Scythian, although the Scythians are reckoned by their myriads, has ever succeeded in dominating a foreign nation ...

Related terms

• tens of thousands

Usage notes

Used as an adjective (see below), 'myriad' requires neither an article before it nor a preposition after. Because of this, some consider the usage described in sense 2 above, where 'myriad' acts as part of a nominal (or noun) group (that is, "a myriad of animals"), to be tautological.

Translations

Adjective

myriad (not comparable)

1. (modifying a singular noun) Multifaceted, having innumerable elements [from 18th c.]
   • 1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Vintage 1993, p. 131:

     one night he would be singing at the barred window and yelling down out of the soft myriad darkness of a May night; the next night he would be gone [...].

   • 2011 April 6–19, Kara Krekeler, "Researchers at Washington U. have 'itch' to cure problem", West End Word, 40 (7), p. 8:

     "As a clinician, it's a difficult symptom to treat," Cornelius said. "The end symptom may be the same, but what's causing it may be myriad."

2. (modifying a plural noun) Great in number; innumerable, multitudinous [from 18th c.]
   • 2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, "London Is Special, but Not That Special," New York Times (retrieved 28 September 2013):

     Driven by a perceived political need to adopt a hard-line stance, Mr. Cameron’s coalition government has imposed myriad new restrictions, the aim of which is to reduce net migration to Britain to below 100,000.

Translations

See also

• plethora

Swedish

Noun

myriad c

1. a myriad

Declension

References

• myriad in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

English

Alternative forms

• diuers, divers (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old French divers, from Latin diversus (“various, different”), also written divorsus, past participle of diverto, divortere (“to turn or go different ways, part, separate, divert”); see divert.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /da??v??s/
• (US) IPA^(key): /d?.?v?s/, /da?.?v?s/, /?da?.v?s/
• Rhymes: -??(?)s

Adjective

diverse (comparative more diverse, superlative most diverse)

1. Consisting of many different elements; various.

   Synonyms: manifold; see also Thesaurus:heterogeneous

   Antonyms: homogeneous; see also Thesaurus:homogeneous

2. Different; dissimilar; distinct; not the same

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:different

   • 1797?, Jonathan Edwards, A Dissertation Concerning Liberty and Necessity; containing remarks on the essays of Dr. Samuel West, and on the writings of several other authors, on those subjects.

     It must be observed concerning moral Inability, in each kind of it, that the word Inability is used in a sense very diverse from its original import.

   • 1876, Robert Browning, Bifurcation

     Our roads are diverse: farewell, love! said she.
3. Capable of various forms; multiform.
   • 1641, Ben Jonson, Discoveries

     Eloquence is a great and diverse thing.

4. Composed of people with a variety of different demographic characteristics in terms of, for example, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, etc., and having a sizeable representation of people that are minorities in a given area.
5. (nonstandard, proscribed) Belonging to a minority group.

   Idris Elba was a diverse hire for the franchise

   • 2016 January 22, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences^[2]:

     The Board’s goal is to commit to doubling the number of women and diverse members of the Academy by 2020.

   • 2018 November 17, Saturday Night Live, season 44, episode 6, Voter Fraud (cold open):

     Here to comment is diverse Congresswoman from Ohio […] Marcia Fudge.

Derived terms

• megadiverse

Related terms

• divert
• diversity

Translations

Adverb

diverse (comparative more diverse, superlative most diverse)

1. In different directions; diversely.

Further reading

• diverse at OneLook Dictionary Search
• diverse in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• diverse in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• diverse in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.

Anagrams

• derives, dervise, deviser, drivees, revised, sivered

Danish

Etymology

From Latin diversus, via French divers

Adjective

diverse

1. various, sundry, miscellaneous, incidental.
   • han annoncerede under «diverse»
     • he inserted an ad in the "miscellaneous" section

   Synonyms: alle mulige, alskens, forskellige, forskelligartet

2. Capable of various forms; multiform.

Inflection

References

• “diverse” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Pronunciation

Adjective

diverse

1. Inflected form of divers

Anagrams

• de Vries

Esperanto

Adverb

diverse

1. diversely

French

Adjective

diverse

1. feminine singular of divers

Anagrams

• dérives, dérivés, verdies

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

diverse

1. inflection of divers:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Adjective

diverse

1. feminine plural of diverso

Verb

diverse

1. third-person singular past historic of divergere

Anagrams

• sedervi, vedersi

Latin

Alternative forms

• d?vors?

Etymology

From d?versus (“turned different ways”)

Adverb

d?vers? (not comparable)

1. in different directions; hither and thither
2. (figuratively) variously

Related terms

• d?versit?s
• d?versus

References

• diverse in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• diverse in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• diverse in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, 1st edition. (Oxford University Press)

Middle English

Alternative forms

• divers, dyvyrs, dyvers, dyverse, dyverce

Etymology

From Old French divers, from Latin diversus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?div?rs/, /?di?v?rs/

Adjective

diverse

1. different, differing
2. (collectively) distinct, unique; diverse
3. various, varying
4. strange, odd, unusual
5. several, many
6. unfriendly

Related terms

• diversite

Descendants

• English: diverse
• Scots: diverse

References

• “d??vers(e, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-02.

Adverb

diverse

1. differently; diversely
2. variously

Descendants

• English: diverse

References

• “d??verse, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-02.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin diversus, via French divers

Adjective

diverse (indeclinable)

1. diverse, various, sundry, miscellaneous.

   han annonserte under «diverse»

   he inserted an ad in the "miscellaneous" section

2. Capable of various forms; multiform.

References

• “diverse” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin diversus, via French divers

Adjective

diverse (indeclinable)

1. diverse, various, sundry, miscellaneous.
2. Capable of various forms; multiform.

References

• “diverse” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Swedish

Adjective

diverse (not comparable) (plural only)

1. diverse, various, different