List of collective nouns

A skein of geese

This is a list of Standard English collective nouns. The large number of collective nouns in English is based on a tradition of venery which arose in the Late Middle Ages. In linguistic terms, the English system of collective nouns forms a rudimentary system of noun classes (classifiers) found in more developed form in many African and East Asian languages.

History

In English, only a limited number of collective nouns are relevant to grammatically correct speech, such as flock, herd, swarm or pack, which are not interchangeable and depend on the kind of animal being described. Other expressions, such as "a skein of geese" used of geese in flight, vs. "a gaggle of geese" of the same animals when not in flight are specialist vocabulary.[1]

The Book of Saint Albans (1486), in an essay on hunting attributed to Dame Juliana Berners, contains a list of such collective nouns.[2][3] The collection became immensely popular in the 16th century, during which time many terms were modified or added.

Modern collections include The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England (1801) by Joseph Strutt[4], a list of "group terms" in Usage and Abusage: A Guide to Good English (1942) by Eric Partridge[5] and An Exaltation of Larks (1968) by James Lipton (which includes numerous terms made up by Lipton himself for humorous effect, although an exalting of larks is found in 15th-century lists).[6]

List

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Standard terms for particular groups are listed first in each group and shown in bold.

Subject Collective Noun Notes Sources
A
alligators congregation [7]
antelope herd [8]
cluster [8]
tribe [8]
ants army [8]
bike [8]
colony [8][9]
swarm [8]
apes shrewdness [2][8][10]
troop [7][8]
asses herd [7][8]
coffle a roped line [8]
drove driven in a group [7][8]
pace or passe [7][8][9]
auks colony on land [8]
flock at sea [8]
raft on water [8]
avocets colony [8]
B
baboons flange [11]
troop [7][10][11]
badgers cete [7][9][10][11][12]
colony [11]
barbels shoal [11]
bats cloud [11]
colony [9][11]
bears sleuth or sloth [7][9][10][11]
beavers colony [7][11]
family [7]
bees swarm [11]
colony [11]
erst [11]
grist [9][11]
birds flock [11]
dissimulation fanciful [11]
fleet [11]
flight [11]
parcel [11]
pod [11]
volary in an aviary [11]
bishops bench [12]
bison herd [11]
bitterns sedge or sege [9][13]
siege [11]
boars (male pigs) herd See also hogs, pigs, swine [11]
singular [11]
boars (wild boars) sounder 12 or more [11][12]
boys blush [2][10]
buffalo herd [9][11]
gang [9][11]
bullfinches bellowing [11]
bullocks drove driven in a group [11]
bursars cheat [5]
bustards flock [11]
butlers draught [2]
butterflies flight [11]
rabble [11]
C
capercaillie tok [14][15]
capons mews [14]
caribou herd [14]
cats clowder [7][9][14]
cluster or clutter [7][14]
glaring [7][14]
pounce [7][9]
cats (wild cats) destruction [10]
caterpillars army [7]
cattle herd [7][9]
drove [7][9]
chickens brood [7][10]
clutch [10]
peep [7][10]
choughs chattering or clattering [2][10][12]
civil servants file [5]
cobblers drunkenship or drunkship [4][10][12]
colts rag [9][10][12]
rake [10]
cormorants gulp [7][9]
cooks hastiness [2][10]
coots covert [2][10]
coyotes pack [14]
cranes herd [10]
sedge or sege [9][13][14]
crocodiles bask [7][9][14]
float [7]
crows murder [7][9][10][12]
curlews herd [2][10][12]
D
deer herd [16]
bunch [16]
mob [16]
parcel [17]
rangale [16]
dogs pack [16]
dogfish troop [16]
dolphins pod [18][19]
school [16]
team [16]
dotterel trip [10][16][20]
doves dole or dule fanciful [9][10][16]
flight [7][10][16]
piteousness fanciful [10][16]
ducks flock [7]
badling [9]
brace [9]
bunch on water [10][16]
paddling on water [7][9][10][16]
plump [21][22]
raft on water [7][9][10][16]
skein in flight [16]
sord or sore [16]
string in flight [16]
team in flight [9][16]
waddling [16]
dunlins fling [10]
E
eagles convocation [7][9]
eels bed [7]
swarm [7]
elephants herd [7][9]
elk gang [10][12]
F
ferrets business corruption over time of 'busyness' [7][9][12]
busyness [2]
finches charm or chirm [7][9][10]
fish school [7][9]
shoal [7][9]
flamingoes stand [7][9]
flies business [7][9]
cloud [7]
swarm [7]
foresters stalk [4][10]
foxes leash [7][9]
skulk [7][9]
frogs army [7][9]
G
geese flock on land [1][9]
gaggle on land [1][7][9]
plump flying close [1]
skein in flight [1][7][9]
team in flight [1]
wedge in flight [1]
giraffes herd [1]
corps [1]
tower [1][9]
gnats cloud [1][7][9][10]
horde [1][7][9]
rabble [1]
swarm [1][7]
goats flock [1]
herd [1]
tribe [1]
trip or trippe [1]
gods pantheon See Pantheon
goldfinches charm [1]
goosanders dopping [1]
gorillas band [1]
whoop [1]
goshawks flight [1][2]
grasshoppers cloud [1][9]
swarm [1]
grouse covey [1][10]
pack [1][10]
guineafowl rasp [23]
H
hares down [24]
drove [24]
flick [24]
husk [24]
hawks boil two or more spiralling in flight [7][9]
cast [7][9][10]
kettle flying in large numbers [7][9]
hedgehogs array [24]
herons sedge or sege [2][7][9][12][13][24]
siege [7][9][10][24]
hermits observance [4][10]
hippopotamuses bloat [7][9][24]
hogs parcel See also boars, pigs, swine [25][26]
horses team in harness [7][9][24]
band [7]
haras or harrase [9][24]
herd [7][24]
stable [7][24]
string [7][9][24]
stud [9][24]
hounds pack [24]
cry [24]
hunt [24]
meet [24]
mute [24]
stable [24]
hyenas cackle [7][9]
I
ibex herd [27]
ibises colony [27]
iguanas mess [27]
insects flight [27]
horde [27]
plague [27]
rabble [27]
swarm [27]
J
jays band [7]
party [7][9]
scold [7][9]
jellyfish fluther [10]
smack [7][9][10]
K
kangaroos mob [7]
troop [7][9]
kittens litter [28]
L
lapwings deceit or desert [2][9][10][12][29]
larks bevy [10]
exaltation [2][6][10][12]
leopards leap or lepe [7][9][10]
lions pride [7][9][10]
sawt [10]
M
mackerel shoal [30]
magpies congregation [30]
tiding [2][9][10][30]
tittering [30]
mallard brace [9]
flush [30]
puddling [30]
sord [9][10][30]
suit or sute [10][30]
mares stud [10][12][30]
martens richesse or richness [9][10][30]
mice nest [7][30]
trip [30]
minnows shoal [30]
moles company [30]
labor or labour [7][9][10][30]
monkeys barrel [7][9]
cartload [30]
tribe [30]
troop [9][10][30]
moorhens plump [30]
moose herd [7][30]
mosquitoes scourge [30]
mudhens fleet [30]
mules barren [7][9][10][12][30]
pack [9][30]
rake [30]
span [7][9][30]
N
nightingales watch [10]
nuns superfluity [2][10]
O
owls parliament [7][9][12]
oxen drove [7]
team [7][9]
yoke [7][9]
P
parrots company [7][9]
pandemonium [7]
partridges covey [9][10]
peacocks muster [9][10][12]
ostentation [7][9]
pride [7]
pelicans pod [7]
pheasants bouquet [7][9]
head [10]
nest [9]
nide [9]
nye [7][9][10][12]
pigs drift See also boars, hogs, swine [7][9]
drove [7][9]
pipers poverty [4][31]
pigeons kit flying together [10]
Q
quail bevy [2][7][9][10]
covey [7][9]
drift [10]
R
raccoons gaze [7]
ravens unkindness [2][10]
rhinoceroses crash [7][9][10]
rooks building [10]
parliament [10][12]
S
salmon bind [32]
draught [32]
run [32]
sandpipers fling [32]
seals herd [32]
pod [32]
rookery [32]
sheep flock [7][9][32]
down [32]
drift when driven in a group [32]
drove when driven in a group [9][32]
hurtle [7][32]
meinie [32]
mob [7]
parcel [32]
trip [32]
sheldrake dopping [32][33]
snails escargatoire [32]
rout [32]
walk [32]
snakes bed [7]
den [7]
knot [7]
nest [9]
pit [7]
snipe walk [10][12][32]
whisp or wisp [10][32]
sparrows host [7][9][10][32]
meinie [32]
tribe [32]
spiders cluster or clutter [7][32]
squirrels colony [32]
dray [7][9]
scurry [7][9]
starlings chattering [7][32]
clattering [32]
cloud [32]
congregation [32]
murmuration [7][10][12][32]
stoats pack [32]
trip [32]
storks flight [32]
mustering [7][9][32]
phalanx when migrating [32]
swallows flight [7][9][32]
gulp [32]
swans bank on the ground [7][32]
bevy [7][9][32]
drift [32]
eyrar [32]
flight [7]
game [10][32]
herd [7][32]
lamentation fanciful [32]
sownder [32]
team [32]
wedge in flight [7][9][10][32]
whiting [32]
swifts flock [32]
scream [34]
swine doylt See also boars, hogs, pigs [32]
drift [12][32]
trip [32]
T
tigers ambush [7]
streak [7][9]
toads knot [7][9]
nest [7]
trout hover [7][9]
turkeys gang [9]
rafter [7][9]
turtles bale [7][9]
dole [7]
nest [9]
turtle doves pitying [9]
U
V
vipers nest [9]
W
walruses herd [9]
pod [9]
waterfowl bunch [10]
knob [10]
raft [10]
weasels colony [7]
pack [7]
whales gam [7][9]
herd [9]
mob [7]
pod [7][9]
wigeons company [9][10]
trip [10]
wildfowl bunch [10]
knob less than 30 [10]
plump [10]
trip [10]
wolves pack [7][9]
rout or route when in movement [7][9]
woodcocks fall [9][10]
woodpeckers descent [7][9][10]
wrens herd [10]
X
Y
Z
zebras herd [7][35]
cohort [35]
zeal [7][35]

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Berners, Dame Juliana (1881 reproduction) [First published 1486]. The Boke of Saint Albans. Introduction by William Blades. London: Elliot Stock. http://www.archive.org/details/bokeofsaintalban00bernuoft. Retrieved 2011-05-27. 
  3. ^ World Wide Words: Precision of Lexicographers
  4. ^ a b c d e The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England p. 19 (Methuen & Co., 1801).
  5. ^ a b c Partridge, Eric (1973) [First published 1942]. Usage and Abusage: A Guide to Good English. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-051024-9. 
  6. ^ a b Lipton, James (1993) [First published 1968]. An Exaltation of Larks (3rd ed.). New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-017096-0. 
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp dq dr ds dt du dv dw dx "Animal group names". Zoological Society of San Diego. http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/got_questions_groups_list.html. 
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "AskOxford: A". archived copy of Collective Terms for Groups of Animals. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. http://replay.web.archive.org/20081020120740/http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/collective/a/. Retrieved 2011-05-27. 
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk "Animal Congregations, or What Do You Call a Group of.....?". U.S. Geological Survey Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/about/faqs/animals/names.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-27. 
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd "What do you call a group of ...?". Oxford Dictionaries. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/page/collectivenouns_us. Retrieved 2011-05-27. 
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af "AskOxford: B". archived copy of Collective Terms for Groups of Animals. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. http://replay.web.archive.org/20081020120740/http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/collective/b/. Retrieved 2011-09-23. 
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Schott, Ben (2002). Schott's Original Miscellany. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 11. ISBN 0-7475-6320-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=zOOjXi_-INsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=isbn:0747563209&hl=en&ei=SNmbTtn_LJGamQXQwbmYAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
  13. ^ a b c Definition of Sege by the Free Online Dictionary
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  15. ^ British Trust for Ornithology - BirdFacts - Capercaillie
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  17. ^ Full text of "Days of deer-stalking in the Scottish Highlands; including an account of the nature and habits of the red deer, a description of the Scottish forests, and histor...
  18. ^ "Battle to save NY pod of dolphins". BBC News. 17 January 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6272733.stm. Retrieved 8 May 2010. 
  19. ^ A Pod of Dolphins - NASA Mars Collection
  20. ^ British Trust for Ornithology - BirdFacts - Dotterel
  21. ^ http://dictionary.infoplease.com/plump
  22. ^ Plump[4] - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary
  23. ^ Lieut.-Colonel B. G. Lynn-Allen (1951). Shot-gun and Sunlight - The Game Birds of East Africa. London: Batchworth Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=KOM1AAAAMAAJ&q=Shot-gun+and+sunlight&dq=Shot-gun+and+sunlight&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3k82T4DpDsXGmQXmqLCZAg&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAA. 
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  25. ^ Avery Craven (1957). The coming of the Civil War. University of Chicago Press. p. 30. ISBN 0-226-11894-0. http://books.google.co.il/books?id=DEWCKlYiocIC&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30&dq=%22parcel+of+hogs%22&source=bl&ots=BxKK3MfkdL&sig=tv3ZxtfqbdYxI0TWzE2NEI04yPQ&hl=en&ei=9JHjSayYC8SMsAbyroDPCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=17. 
  26. ^ Lars Schoultz (1998). Beneath the United States. Harvard University Press. p. 1. ISBN 0-674-92276-X. http://books.google.co.il/books?id=Qxhd5QIQGQcC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=%22parcel+of+hogs%22&source=bl&ots=dc8q0K2Y4Q&sig=zdZPBkAMzgAZRcq_z1q5WL8SGKQ&hl=en&ei=9JHjSayYC8SMsAbyroDPCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=20. "They are lazy, dirty, nasty, and in short I can compare them to nothing but a parcel of hogs. (John Quincy Adams, age 12)" 
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  28. ^ [http://www.merriam-webster.com
  29. ^ British Trust for Ornithology - BirdFacts - Lapwing
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  33. ^ Definition of Dopping by the Free Online Dictionary
  34. ^ British Trust for Ornithology - BirdFacts - Swift
  35. ^ a b c "AskOxford: Z". http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/collective/z/?view=uk. Retrieved 2010-06-22.