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Collective Nouns
Collective Nouns!
Terms originally evolved as hunting terms which is why so many describe field and gaming animals. Sometimes a collective noun can be used as a plural noun. Examples of these collective nouns are water, money, dishwashing liquid, toilet paper, sand, soap, dirt, etc. Other collective nouns (the class, the committee, the team...) have a somewhat schizophrenic personality. Sometimes, they act as one person (singular). At other times, they act as though they have many personalities (plural). Be careful; use the correct pronoun so as not to get on a collective noun's bad side.
The following nouns (except where noted) have been verified via Webster's New Dictionary and Thesaurus, Concise edition; Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms, by Ivan G. Sparkes, published by Gale, 2nd ed. 1985; The Trivia Encyclopedia, by Fred L. Worth, published by Berkley Pub Group, 1984; The Oxford English Dictionary; and docents at the Henry Doorly Zoo and KC Zoological Park.
(Keep in mind, some nouns have more than one term to describe a group.)
| An agenda of tasks | A descent of woodpeckers | A peep of chickens |
| An armada of ships | A dissimulation of birds | A piteousness of doves |
| An army of ants | A division of soldiers | A pitying of turtledoves |
| An army of caterpillars | A dule of doves | A plague of locusts |
| An army of frogs | A donut of data | A platoon of soldiers |
| An audit of bookkeepers | A down of hares | A plump of waterfowl |
| An aurora of polar bears | A draught of fish | A pod of seals |
| A balance of accountants | A dray of squirrels | A pod of whales |
| A bale of turtles | A drift of swine | A pod of dolphins |
| A band of gorillas | A drove of cattle | A ponder of philosophers |
| A band of jays | A dule of doves | A prickle of hedgehogs |
| A bank of monitors | An exaltation of larks | A pride of lions |
| A barren of mules | A field of racehorses | A rabble of rats |
| A bed of clams | A fistful of dollars | (-suggested by Roy
Waller of BBC Radio Norfolk, roy.waller@bbc.co.uk-) |
| A bed of oysters | A flange of babboons | A raft of ducks |
| A bed of snakes | A fleet of ships | A rafter of turkeys |
| A belt of asteroids | A flight of cormorants | A range of mountains |
| A bevy of quail | A flight of doves | A remuda of extra cowboy mounts |
| A bevy of swans | A flight of goshawks | A richness of martens |
| A blessing of unicorns | A flight of swallows | A ring of keys |
| A bouquet of pheasants | A flink of cows (twelve or more) | A rout of wolves |
| A brace of grouse | A flock of sheep | A school of fish |
| A brigade of soldiers | A flock of tourists | A sedge of cranes |
| A brood of hens | A flotilla of ships | A set of mathematicians |
| A bunch of things | A gaggle of geese | A shoal of bass |
| A bury of conies | A galaxy of stars | A shrewdness of apes |
| A business of ferrets | A galaxy of starlets | A siege of herons |
| A business of flies | A gam of whales | A singular of boars |
| A cast of actors | A gang of elk | A skein of geese |
| A cast of falcons | A gang of hoodlums | A skulk of foxes |
| A cast of hawks | A geek of engineers | A slew of homework |
| A cavalcade of horsemen | A giggle of girls | A slither of snakes |
| A cete of badgers | A grist of bees | (-suggested by David
Rachlin, Rachlin1@ix.netcom.com-) |
| A chain of islands | A grove of trees | A sloth of bears |
| A charm of finches | A heap of trash | A sneak of weasels |
| A chattering of choughs | A herd of elephants | A sord of mallards |
| A chorus of angels | A hill of beans | A sounder of swine |
| A class of students | A hive of bees | A spring of seals |
| A cloud of gnats | A horde of gnats | A spring of teal |
| A clowder of cats | A host of angels | A squad of soldiers |
| A cluster of grasshoppers | A host of sparrows | A staff of employees |
| A clutch of chicks | A hover of trout | A stand of trees |
| A clutch of eggs | A huddle of lawyers | A streak of tigers |
| A clutter of cats | A husk of hares | A string of ponies |
| A collective of nouns | A kettle of hawks | A stud of mares |
| A colony of ants | A kindle of kittens | A swarm of bees |
| A colony of bats | A knot of toads | A swarm of rats |
| A colony of beavers | A leap of hares | A team of atheletes |
| A colony of gulls | A leap of leopards | A team of ducks |
| A colony of penguins | A leash of foxes | A team of horses |
| A colony of rats | A litter of pigs | A tidings of magpies |
| A company of parrots | A mob of kangaroos | A tribe of goats |
| A company of soldiers | A murder of crows | A tribe of monkeys |
| A conflagration of arsonists | A murmuration of starlings | A tribe of natives |
| A congregation of plovers | A muster of peacocks | A trip of dotterel |
| A congregation of worshipers | A muster of storks | A trip of goats |
| A congress of baboons | A mute of hounds | A troop of kangaroos |
| A conspiracy of ravens | A nest of mice | A troup of performers |
| A constellation of satellites | A nest of rabbits | A tumult of tubas |
| A convocation of eagles | A nest of vipers | A vagary of impediments |
| A cover of coots | A network of computers | A volery of birds |
| A covey of grouse | A number of mathematicians | A walk of snipe |
| A covey of partridges | A nye of pheasants | A watch of nightingales |
| A covey of pheasants | An ostentation of peacocks | A wealth of information |
| A covey of quail | A pack of hounds | A wedge of geese (flying in a "V") |
| A cowardice of curs | A pack of rats* | A wedge of swans (flying in a "V") |
| A crash of rhinoceroses | A pack of wolves | A whistle of modems |
| A crowd of onlookers | A paddling of ducks | (-suggested by Jerry Pournelle in a BYTE article-) |
| A cruft of hackers | A pair of horses | A wing of aircraft |
| A cry of hounds | A parliament of owls | A wisdom of grandparents |
| A culture of bacteria | A party of jays | A wisp of snipe |
| A deceit of lapwings | A patch of flowers | A woop of gorillas |
| A yoke of oxen |
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