The Collective Nouns

There are two varieties of collective noun listed here. When i receive a submission, i check all available sources for a reference. If i find one (in, for instance, a dictionary), i denote it here as a "submission". If i don't, i denote it a "suggestion". Feel free to submit a collective noun if you don't find it here. The goal is not (yet) to be comprehensive - merely entertaining.

This list is alphabetical by the collective noun. You'll note that there are multiple listings for a few types, for instance, "a hive of bees" and "a swarm of bees". These typically refer to terms that stem from different types of collection. In the example, "hive" is from the domicile of bees, and "swarm" is from a group of flying bees. This will be noted, and derivation given, where possible and confirmed. Please feel free to submit derivations (or even corrections!) for verification.


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1TR denotes Terry Ross, author of Group Names for Birds
2CCW denotes Crane C. Walden, cranew@foothill.net
3MG denotes Matt Goers, matt.j.goers@medtronic.com, quoting from The Trivia Encyclopedia and Webster's New Dictionary and Thesaurus, Concise edition (see the bibliography)
4RP denotes Richard Paterak, rpaterak@hurontario.net
5According to Jeansp@aol.com:
The suggestion about an anthology of prostitutes is part of a joke I heard years ago:
A group of specialists in collective nouns was in bar an observed such a group of professionals and came up with the following:
A jam of tarts
A flourish of strumpets
An anthology of English pros
6Confirmed by ojo@ojohaven.com in An Exaltation of Larks: The Ultimate Edition, by James Lipton, published by Penguin USA, 1993. ISBN 0-140-17096-0.
7Submitted by Jeannette van Arenthals (info@alfa-beta.nl), Robert S Owen (Owen.Robert.S@edumail.vic.gov.au), and Richard Wakem (richard.wakem.@libertysurf.co.uk), the last of whom gives the following reference:
In the English TV-series 'Inspector Morse', the protagonist asks this colleagues at the scene of the crime if there is a collective noun for pathologists. They decide on 'a body of pathologists'


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