A group of three or more cats is known as a clowder. The term is sometimes qualified if the group numbers seven felines, when it's called a clutter.
While groups from two to eight classical musicians are called ensembles, a parenthesis of cellists refers to a quartet and upwards of cello players.
A coalition of cheetahs typically describes a group of two or more of these supple and speedy big cats. But it's only males that form these special bonds.
A shock of corn refers to a stack or bundle of bound or unbound corn with stalks included piled upright for curing or drying.
The noun "brace" has several meanings, anything from a type of medical device to a musical symbol used to connect two or more lines of music that are played simultaneously. More commonly, a brace of dogs is used to describe two hunting dogs, or birddogs, species such as the Weimar pointing dog (pictured).
A group of three of more leopards is called a leap. An alternative description is a prowl.
The collective noun for orchids is a coterie. According to London's Kew Gardens, there are 28,000 species of this exotic flower known to science.
It's rare to see a dray of squirrels, the name given to a group of these bushy-tailed rodents. They are for the most part solitary creatures. Incidentally, the term dray also refers to a squirrel mother and her young.
In its broadest definition, a midden is a dunghill or refuse heap. A midden of shells specifically refers to a layer of shells exposed in the sides of dunes, banks, or cliff tops.
The collective noun for a group of crows is a murder of crows. The reasoning behind the name has to do with birds' scavenger-like nature, a habit likely associated with the rich pickings provided by the fallen on the battlefields of old.
A thought of barons is the collective noun given to a group or assembly of highly influential individuals known as barons, either current or historical.
A group of toads is called a knot, though this kind of gathering only takes place during the breeding season.
The ancient Greeks considered the owl to be a very wise bird, which is probably why groups of these usually solitary and nocturnal birds of prey are called parliaments.
A covey of quail refers to flocks of this small ground-nesting game bird. Another collective name for quail is bevy.
A group of wild hogs is known as a parcel or passel of hogs. A group of young pigs, on the other hand, is known as a litter.
A troop of boys is just one way to describe a group of lads. But collective noun options extend to band, gang, pack, and even a rascal of boys, a reference to their perceived mischievous habits.
The collective noun for a group of turkeys is a rafter. The description refers to three or more of these large game birds.
While a gaggle refers to groups of grounded geese, those flying in V formations are collectively called a skein for the resemblance to a length of thread or yarn, loosely coiled and knotted.
A shrewdness of apes describes any group of Old World simians. For example, mountain gorillas. The term a shrewdness of apes was coined in 1486, when the word meant wickedness and came from a sense of playfulness and mischief. This was before scientists realized just how intelligent and astute these animals are!
A cete is the collective noun that describes a group of badgers. Interestingly, the word cete is dated back as early as 1486, either from a Chaucerian word for city or from the Latin coetus for an assembly.
The term misbelief of painters was coined as a collective noun in the Middle Ages to describe the artistic license given to portrait artists so as to enable them to make the finished work more flattering and find beauty in the subject, even if such qualities were sorely lacking.
A nest of rumors correlates with the habit of spreading false gossip, pieces of information that may or may not be true. The collective noun is often uttered in the same breath as a nest of vipers. Put together, a nest of rumors suddenly takes on a far more sinister and dangerous connotation.
A collective noun that first appeared in medieval England, a superfluity of nuns was used to describe the excess of spinsters whose only real option was to enter a nunnery and find salvation in God. The noun has long fallen into obscurity.
A tabernacle of bakers described the strict laws governing the making and distribution of bread. Specifically, no baker was permitted to sell bread from beside their own oven. Instead, they could only trade from a market approved by the king. These stalls were known as tabernacula.
While an individual playing the harp is known as a harpist, a group of musicians playing the same instrument was, in the medieval era, collectively known as a melody of harpists.
Despite the obvious religious connotations, a congregation of people can describe any large gathering of individuals, be it in a classroom, an office environment, or in a social setting such as a music concert.
The phrase a cry of hounds has its origins in the England of the Middle Ages, when the master of foxhounds would signal the hounds to begin the hunt. Over time, it became the collective noun to describe a gathering of dogs used to pursue the hapless quarry.
Six hundred years ago, the collective noun known as a faith of merchants was used to identify a group of merchants together. The use of faith was deliberate in that it denoted the level of trustworthiness afforded to the people you were buying from.
Sources: (Collins Dictionary) (Collective Nouns List) (Kew Gardens)
See also: What was the average diet like in medieval Europe?
A smuck of jellyfish describes not just a large group of these gelatinous medusas, but the sound a stranded jellyfish makes when it is trodden on.
The collective name for a group of turtles is a bale of turtles. The description most likely derives from the shape they take when huddled together in their shells.
A collective noun, otherwise known as a noun of association, refers to a group, be it of people, animals, things, and other objects. We all use nouns in our everyday language. Many are well known, employed frequently in conversation. Yet there are also a large number that are not so recognized, and there are a few that are totally obscure in meaning and usage. But what are the weirdest and most intriguing terms and phrases used to gather things together?
Click through this gallery and read up on the more unfamiliar nouns of association.
Weird and wonderful nouns of association
Collective descriptions for all sorts of things
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A collective noun, otherwise known as a noun of association, refers to a group, be it of people, animals, things, and other objects. We all use nouns in our everyday language. Many are well known, employed frequently in conversation. Yet there are also a large number that are not so recognized, and there are a few that are totally obscure in meaning and usage. But what are the weirdest and most intriguing terms and phrases used to gather things together?
Click through this gallery and read up on the more unfamiliar nouns of association.