If you’re into other collective nouns, this Guardian piece features a bit of history behind some fun ones.Ī zeal of zebras. Crows: A flock of crows has been described as a ‘murder’ as far back as the 15 th century. Watch this video and learn what collective nouns are with a clear definition and a host of animal-centric examples. The term evolved over the years to become the currently used ‘clowder’. In the late 1700s, the term ‘clodder’ was used to refer to a ‘clotted mass’. Linguists don’t quite know how to ascertain the origin, or if the thing - say, a murder of crows or a destruction of wild cats - will continue to be that thing down the line. According to, the term clowder originates from the word ‘clodder’. Buffalo: A gang or an obstinacy of buffalo. While most of us know that the collective noun for ants is an 'army,' and the collective noun for lions is a 'pride,' finding the collective noun for a group of lesser-known animals is more challenging. Animal Group Names Mammals A group of bears is called a sloth or sleuth Apes: A shrewdness of apes. Which is frustratingly vague! Apparently, there’s a paradox between actual popular usage and assumed common usage - aka, a text claims the thing is a thing, so it is - between how these things come to be. The collective nouns for animals are often bizarre (e.g., an 'opera' of canaries, a 'whoop' of chimpanzees). According to this oldish article via Medium, there’s not really an answer as to where they come from, collective nouns just… are. I’ve been drowning in words lately, for all numbers of reasons, and so it was only a matter of time before I dove into collective nouns. I can’t tell you why I’ve been thinking about collective nouns. Collective nouns have evolved from primarily describing groups of animals to encompassing groups of people, objects, and ideas, and are now used for humor, irony, and social commentary. A prickle (!) of hedgehogs (say hiya to my son, Hedgewig). English has peculiar collective nouns that reflect cultural perceptions and add eccentricity to the language. A parliament of owls or - alternatively, if you’re feeling more sinister than magisterial - a looming of them. They’re poetic, they’re nonsensical, they’re fun to think about.Ī shrewdness of apes. I had a bee in my bonnet today (not a hive of them, mind you) about collective nouns.
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