MYRIAD - Correct usage of?

[Azimov]

I have hunted high and low for a definite answer but so far without success. I was taught 'A myriad of...' as in 'I saw a myriad of stars in the night sky.' is incorrect. My understanding is that 'I saw myriad stars in the night sky.' is the correct form. Which is correct (if either) and can anyone direct me to an authoratative body for confirmation?

[BenDToy]

From what I can see both are acceptable, as they are different parts of speech. As a noun you would say "a myriad of .." meaning a large number of and as an adjective "myriad ...". See the following http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=myriad

[bernardo]

Originally "myriad" comes from "myria" which is Greek for 10,000. (In Greek a million is "ekatomyria" which means a hundred ten-thousand (rather than a thousand thousand))

[Janetex]

Well, well, i've learned something. I always thought eg "a myriad of gems, colours, etc" would mean a whole lote of different ones.

[Azimov]

Thanks folks, I thought I'd checked with Dictionary.Com (usually my first stop for such things) but apparently I hadn't! That pretty much cleared things up for me, both forms are acceptable depending on whether you use it as a noun or as an adjective. As a newcomer to this site, I'm very impressed. Thanks again!