The Fascinating World of Collective Nouns

🐦Bird-related collective nouns are particularly popular and many have been resurrected in recent years.

📚The Book of St Albans, published in the 15th century, contains over 160 collective nouns.

🕊️Some collective nouns, like a flock of birds, have origins that go back to Old English.

🚴‍♀️The term 'bike of bees' was used in the 15th century, but its usage declined when 'bike' came to mean 'bicycle'.

🦉'A parliament of owls' and 'an unkindness of ravens' are examples of collective nouns that have been resurrected.

Do birdwatchers use bird-related collective nouns?

—Birdwatchers usually state the number of birds they've seen or give an estimate, rather than using collective nouns.

Why are many of the collective nouns related to birds?

—Bird-related collective nouns were mainly coined in books about hawking and 15th century England considered birds as exciting as its wildlife got.

Do people use all the collective nouns coined in the 15th century?

—No, many of the collective nouns coined in the 15th century have fallen out of use, while some have been resurrected in recent years.

Are the humorous collective nouns found on the internet real?

—Many of the humorous collective nouns found on the internet have no evidence of ever being used and were likely not coined in the 15th century.

Are there any well-established collective nouns in the English language?

—Yes, there are many well-established collective nouns, such as 'school' for fish, 'flock' for birds and sheep, and 'swarm' for bees.

00:00English has a plethora of collective nouns for different groups of animals and people, many of which were coined in the 15th century in books known as 'courtesy books'.

05:48Bird-related collective nouns, like 'a murder of crows', have been resurrected in recent years after fading into obscurity for centuries.

11:24The word 'school' to refer to a group of fish comes from Old English and was likely influenced by the Dutch word 'scolu'.

12:48Many humorous collective nouns found on the internet, such as 'a rhumba of rattlesnakes' and 'a shiver of sharks', have no evidence of ever being used and were likely not coined in the 15th century.

13:24There are many well-established collective nouns in the English language, including 'school' for fish, 'flock' for birds and sheep, and 'swarm' for bees.