![]() In its essays, many terms for groups of various types of fauna remain in use today. The Book of Saint Albans from 1486 contains essays on hawking, hunting, and heraldry. Many collective nouns for particular animals date back to England in the 15th century. Khalil Romain for Listen & Learn Historical Origins of Collective Nouns Others to explore include An Exaltation of Larksby James Lipton and A Compendium of Collective Nouns by Woop Studios. Author Chloe Rhodes recently published the similarly named An Unkindness of Ravens: A Book of Collective Nouns that specifically expands upon this linguistic phenomenon. A British crime novel by Ruth Rendell is entitled, An Unkindness of Ravens. Interesting collective nouns seem to hold considerable literary fascination. Oxford Dictionaries lists many examples of real terminology, including a “superfluity of nuns,” a “sloth of bears,” a “shrewdness of apes,” and a “hastiness of cooks.” The most correct way to refer to multiple ravens, however, is the much more poetic “unkindness.” Even most native speakers would be surprised to hear many of the proper terms for certain groups. A “cloud” of flies or gnats is both visual and intuitive. Sometimes, the words designated to signify a grouping of nouns veer sharply from illustrative to bizarre. Naturally, it is simpler to reference a large number of individuals as “a group” or “a people.” What Are Collective Nouns?Ĭollective nouns are a grammatical hybrid between a singular and plural noun, handling multiple subjects as one body rather than many independent entities. As time progresses, the vocabulary at society’s disposal infinitely swells, filled with colorful and charming linguistic gems that do not translate literally between cultures.Ĭollective nouns fall into this category. Each generation bequeaths these words to the next. ![]() ![]() Language allows its speakers to connect and share new experiences, coining words to reference every exciting discovery. Why is this so, and does it exist in other languages? Ingrid Taylar/ Flickr-A group of ravens together make an “unkindness.”Įnglish uses many odd words to describe groups of animals.
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