Collective noun: Encyclopedia II - Collective noun - Origins

Collective noun - Origins

Many nouns used are colourful, or even fanciful; this originated in an English hunting tradition (of uncertain origin) for giving poetic names to prey. (The phrase "terms of venery" is an archaic synonym for collective nouns - "venery" in this context meaning the "act of hunting"). For this reason, most collective nouns refer to animals.

This tradition dates back to at least the 15th century. Many of these original collective nouns are archaic: a "harass of horses" doesn't seem to have been used much since the 1400s.

Interest in collective nouns has always remained high, and the neologism of candidate collective nouns has been a pastime of many writers ever since. Some have achieved an entry in a respected dictionary, the vast majority have not.

Some collective nouns have been circulated on websites for humorous reasons. In at least two cases (an "abomination of monks" and "a court of kangaroos") some authoritative resources allege them to be accurate, however research has proved these to be spurious as well.

One author of a computer book invented some obviously joking collective nouns which systems developers could relate to, including a "bleat" of users; a "retreat" of consultants; and a "trough" of salespersons.

Some alternatives for collective nouns can be clearly traced to the evolution of pronunciation in different areas (hence a "parcel of hogs" and a "passel of hogs").

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Origins", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki