Talk:List of collective nouns for non-human mammals
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There must be a better way to organize the list by type. there are some common ones missing (can be verified in any dictionary).
covey of quail, partridges, etc. school or shoal of fish Myles Jul 20, 2006
Kangaroos are, to the best of my knowledge, always a mob, never anything else. Tannin 10:44 Feb 11, 2003 (UTC)
To the best of my knowledge, boys are humans. Tjunier 13:39, 5 Nov 2003 (UTC)
similarly, i must protest the inclusion of "geeks" in this list of non-human mammals.
I heard once that a group of men once came wrote a book with the goal of deciding what gentlemen call different groups of animals leading to to the creation of many of these names. Is this true? If not, who decides what groups of animals are called?--The_stuart 06:16, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC)
Many of these terms come from The Egerton Manuscript, 1450, and The Book of St. Albans, 1486. --Ejknapp 15:29, 1 March 2006 (UTC)
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[edit] Disputed
What source is used to determine whether these terms are classified as spurious or legitimate? Most of these are probably nonce terms that some long-dead listmaker invented but which nobody actually uses. For instance, a Google search for "chine of polecats" does not result in any pages except those listing collective nouns for animals! Not even the Oxford English Dictionary lists any polecat-related definition for "chine". I'm going to put a factual-accuracy-disputed tag on this page until all the entries can be proved anything other than urban legends. —Psychonaut 17:04, 31 August 2005 (UTC)
- As far as I understand, most of these terms were invented simply for the purpose of extending this kind of list, but long before Internet urban legends were around. However, it may be hard to tell the product of modern imaginations from the product of old ones. I propose to simply state this clearly in the article. But, "a kine of cattle?" 'Kine' is just the old English plural of 'cow'. platypeanArchcow 07:23, 5 September 2005 (UTC)
- i support Psychonaut's view. List like these showcases the collective moronicity of wikipedian addicts Xah Lee 05:44, September 7, 2005 (UTC)
- sorry, but that's a "claptrap" of wikipedians :)
I agree to a point, because some of these terms are legitimate and represent recieved English usage. Just as one would (or should) never say a flock of cattle, or a herd of birds, or a school of elephants. But this particular list has past the point of being exessive. Two that are listed as uncertain, I am sure are correct, however. It IS a pod of dolphins or porpoises, and it IS a tower of giraffes. That's my two cents. - Tyrth
Surely the collective term for monkeys is 'troop', with 'tribe' being a word some people mistakenly use instead of troop (probably because they think of monkeys being like primative humans living in tribes?). As for 'mission', isn't that one of those many collective nouns that people make up so that the noun starts with the same letter as the word itself? I also go with 'flange' for baboons rather than 'troop'. 81.179.241.87 19:27, 11 March 2006 (UTC)
- Similarly "a tribe of goats"? I'm sure that "a trip of goats" is correct but is "tribe" possibly just a misheard "trip"? If I was in a library I'd look it up lol. --Monotonehell 07:18, 10 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Verifiability
It is a shame that this interesting ans useful list is a glaring insult to wikipedia rules of wikipedia:verifiability, and "wikipedia:cite your sources". I am going to remove the vast majority out of the article, preserving it in the talk page. Please re-add only with dictionary or other references. "A sowse of lions", sheesh! `'mikka (t) 23:40, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Old list
| SUBJECT | COLLECTIVE TERM |
|
|---|---|---|
| aardvarks | An armory of aardvarks |
|
| antelope | A herd of antelope |
|
| apes | A shrewdness of apes |
|
| apes | A troop of apes |
|
| asses | A pace of asses |
|
| asses | A coffle of asses |
|
| baboons | A congress of baboons |
|
| baboons | A troop of baboons |
|
| baboons | A flange of baboons |
|
| badgers | A cete of badgers |
|
| bats | A colony of bats |
|
| bears | A sloth of bears |
|
| beavers | A colony of beavers |
|
| beavers | A lodge of beavers |
|
| boars | A singular of boars |
|
| boars | A sounder of boars |
|
| borzois | A leash of borzois |
|
| buffalo | A herd of buffalo |
|
| buffalo | An obstinacy of buffalo |
|
| camels | A complaint of camels |
|
| camels | A flock of camels |
|
| cats | A destruction of cats (feral or wild) |
|
| cats | A clowder of cats |
|
| cats | A cluster of cats |
|
| cats | A clutter of cats |
|
| cats | A colony of cats |
|
| cats | A glaring of cats |
|
| cats | A pounce of cats |
|
| cattle | A drove of cattle |
|
| cattle | A herd of cattle |
|
| cattle | A kine of cattle |
|
| chamois | A herd of chamois |
|
| colts | A rag of colts |
|
| colts | A rake of colts |
|
| conies | A bury of conies |
|
| cows | A flink of cows |
|
| cows | A herd of cows |
|
| curs | A cowardice of curs |
|
| deer | A herd of deer |
|
| deer | A leash of deer |
|
| deer | A parcel of deer |
|
| dogs | A pack of dogs |
|
| dolphins | A pod of dolphins |
|
| elephants | A herd of elephants |
|
| elephants | A parade of elephants |
|
| elk | A gang of elk |
|
| ferrets | A business of ferrets |
|
| ferrets | A fesnying of ferrets |
|
| foxes | A leash of foxes |
|
| foxes | A skulk of foxes |
|
| giraffes | A corps of giraffes |
|
| giraffes | A tower of giraffes |
|
| goats | A tribe of goats |
|
| goats | A trip of goats |
|
| gorillas | A band of gorillas |
|
| gorillas | A woop of gorillas |
|
| guinea pigs | A scream of guinea pigs |
|
| hares | A down of hares |
|
| hares | A husk of hares |
|
| hares | A leap of hares |
|
| hares | A trace of hares |
|
| hares | A trip of hares |
|
| hedgehogs | A prickle of hedgehogs |
|
| hippopotami | A bloat of hippopotami |
|
| hippopotami | A crash of hippopotami |
|
| hogs | A drift of hogs |
|
| hogs | A parcel of hogs |
|
| hogs | A passel of hogs |
|
| horses | A harass of horses |
|
| horses | A stable of horses |
|
| horses | A team of horses |
|
| hounds | A cry of hounds |
|
| hounds | A mute of hounds |
|
| hounds | A pack of hounds |
|
| hyenas | A clan of hyenas |
|
| kangaroos | A court of kangaroos |
|
| kangaroos | A mob of kangaroos |
|
| kangaroos | A troop of kangaroos |
|
| kittens (cats) | A kindle of kittens (cats) |
|
| kittens (rabbits) | A wrack of kittens (rabbits) |
|
| lambs | A fall of lambs |
|
| leopards | A leap of leopards |
|
| lions | A pride of lions |
|
| lions | A sault of lions |
|
| lions | A sowse of lions |
|
| mares | A stud of mares |
|
| mice | A mischief of mice |
|
| mice | A nest of mice |
|
| moles | A company of moles |
|
| moles | A labour of moles |
|
| moles | A movement of moles |
|
| monkeys | A circus of monkeys |
|
| monkeys | A mission of monkeys |
|
| monkeys | A tribe of monkeys |
|
| monkeys | A troop of monkeys |
|
| mules | A Rake of mules |
|
| mules | A barren of mules |
|
| oxen | A span of oxen |
|
| oxen | A team of oxen |
|
| oxen | A yoke of oxen |
|
| owls | A parliament of owls |
|
| pandas | A pandemonium of pandas |
|
| pekingese | A pomp of pekingese |
|
| piglets | A farrow of piglets |
|
| piglets | A litter of piglets |
|
| pigs | A drove of pigs |
|
| pigs | A herd of pigs |
|
| pigs | A sounder of pigs |
|
| polar bears | An aurora of polar bears |
|
| polecats | A chine of polecats |
|
| ponies | A string of ponies |
|
| porpoises | A turmoil of porpoises |
|
| porpoises | A pod of porpoises |
|
| possum | A passel of possum |
|
| platypus | A lot of platypus |
|
| puppies | A litter of puppies |
|
| rabbits | A bury of rabbits |
|
| rabbits | A colony of rabbits |
|
| rabbits | A nest of rabbits |
|
| raccoons | A gaze of raccoons |
|
| racehorses | A field of racehorses |
|
| rats | A colony of rats |
|
| rats | A pack of rats |
|
| rats | A rabble of rats |
|
| rats | A swarm of rats |
|
| rhinoceroses | A crash of rhinoceroses |
|
| roes | A bevy of roes |
|
| seals | A colony of seals (on land) |
|
| seals | A plum of seals |
|
| seals | A pod of seals |
|
| seals | A raft of seals (in the water) |
|
| seals | A spring of seals |
|
| sheep | A flock of sheep |
|
| sheep | A trip of sheep |
|
| show dogs | A bench of show dogs |
|
| squirrels | A church of squirrels |
|
| squirrels | A dray of squirrels |
|
| swine | A drift of swine |
|
| swine | A sounder of swine |
|
| tigers | A streak of tigers |
|
| tigers | An ambush of tigers |
|
| walruses | A herd of walruses |
|
| walruses | An ugly of walruses |
|
| weasels | A sneak of weasels |
|
| whales | A gam of whales |
|
| whales | A herd of whales |
|
| whales | A pod of whales |
|
| whales | A school of whales |
|
| wolves | A pack of wolves |
|
| wolves | A rout of wolves |
|
| zebra | A herd of zebra |
|
| zebra | A zeal of zebra |
|
- ^ A "complaint of camels" was formerly common in Australia due to the poem "The Plaint of the Camel" by Charles Edward Carryl, which was part of the primary school syllabus for many years.
- ^ Andrew Lang, www.vetclinpathjournal.org, www.humane-so-arizona.org
- ^ The phrase "A court of kangaroos" is frequently thought to be legitimate, given the (quite unrelated) expression "a kangaroo court". There is no known evidence of its legitimacy as a collective noun, however.
[edit] American Heritage Dictionary
Please see synonyms for flock: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=flock as a reasonable source. `'mikka (t) 23:52, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Hmm
I've always heard a murder of crows and an unkindness of ravens. I'm not sure how you're keeping track of these, nor how you're citing them, so I'll just leave this for your attention. Cheers! --Chuchunezumi 05:16, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
- yeah, you cannot have something totally obscure like "a cowardice of curs" and not have a murder of crows. I added it. Naerhu 01:09, 5 September 2006 (UTC)
I'd just like to add that it should be a "harras" of horses, not a "harass". I corrected this on the main collective nouns page, but it needs doing here too. - Jo
Many of these collective nouns are misleading as listed. A litter of puppies has a very specific meaning; they are siblings. A pack of dogs, on the other hand, need not have any biological relationship. I agree with the objection to cattle, kine, and kye, which are all synonyms. In addition, they are all plural except in the trivial usage: "Cattle is a noun." There needs to be an effort to distinguish collective nouns into two groups: those that are equivalent to the words "group," "collection," or "set" and those that require a commonality of traits or properties among the members so as to be included in the set. Although these terms are all collective nouns, they are not equivalent collective nouns, but there is nothing to distinguish them or to indicate proper usage. Moreover, there is another critical issue: common usage. A "herd of cattle" and a "pack of dogs" are widely used, a "gaggle of geese" or "troop of monkeys" less so, and a "tower of giraffes" almost never. The issue of popular usage is important whether the words have been officially classified as obsolete or archaic by a lexicographer (or usage panel) or not. -etu
-
- oh yeah, I just added crows. forgot the mammal thing! I'll take them out again. shame, cos I got two references each for 'murder' and parliament'! raining_girl 15:15, 17 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Verifiability
I picked up "kaleidoscope of giraffes" while on safari in Namibia. I have found some evidence on the web to support this:
As to the comments above about the need for a dictionary reference, it should be noted that collective nouns are, in large part, colloquial and can vary from area to area. It is an informal system and I would not expect to find difinitive answers in any reference book. I would be interested to know if this collective term could be verified by group consensus with plausable first person documentation.
[edit] tigers?
tigers are solitary animals - since there's no citation for 'streak' I think it should go. raining girl 00:42, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] No source, no entry
The original research policy needs to be enforced vigorously here. savidan(talk) (e@) 05:43, 19 December 2006 (UTC)
