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Collective nouns are those nouns which are used to identify and name a particular group. Intriguingly, these scintillating nouns are the product of centuries of linguistic evolution and do not derive from mere coincidence.
The Norman invasion of 1066, characterised by the invasion of England by the Kingdom of France, resulted in the creation of a French bourgeoisie on English soil. The French conquerors brought with them their culture, customs, and language. Consequently and interestingly enough, English speakers have separate words for living animals and their culinary equivalents.
The aristocrats in the 11th-century were oblivious towards the concept of living animals such as cows, pigs, and sheep, but were well acquainted with terms such as ‘boeuf’, ‘porc’ and ‘mouton’. While the well-to-do may have been incognisant of living animals, hunters, as their practice suggests, were not. Courtly hunting was widely prevalent in the 14th and 15th-centuries and was associated with a form of specialised vocabulary known as ‘terms of venery’ (venery is an archaic word for hunting). Not unlike most jargon, such vocabulary was ripe for parody and found its expression in ‘The Book of Saint Albans’.
The fact that the most well-known collective nouns are those for animals and birds is not out of sheer happenstance. ‘The Book of Saint Albans’, originally printed in 1486, was a collection of advice and information on hawking, hunting and heraldry and was the preliminary glimpse into the first 164 collective nouns. Written by Dame Juliana Barnes, the book explores the customary pastimes of gentlemen of the time, primarily hunting. It has been assumed that the purpose of writing the book was to assist English gentlemen in appearing intelligent by encouraging them to use the correct terminology when amongst company.
Additionally, a number of collective nouns corresponding to an extensive array of human professions were also included in the list by Barnes. The inclusion of such fanciful terms for groups of people hints at the whimsy with which the words were first founded. A survey of the existing literature of the era demonstrates that collective nouns such as a melody of harpists and a poverty of pipers were exclusively mentioned in these curious lists.
Allison Treese, a master’s student at the University of Arkansas and author of the theses ‘A Flourynge Aege, believes that the book accounts for “mostly translations and adaption of other works, which is an older literary tradition.” Treese additionally deduces from her work that Berners had a sense of humour. “Since the entire list fell under the heading of ‘Beasts and Fowls’, it had to have been Berners’ tongue-in-cheek means of putting people in the same category,” she says. “Many of the groupings are so satirical that she must have had a playful, humorous attitude about this area of the work.”
Some amusing collective nouns featured in ‘The Book of Saint Albans’ include:
- a feast of brewers
- a goring of butchers
- a doctrine of doctors
- a state of princes
- a diligence of messengers
- an eloquence of lawyers
- a drunkenship of cobblers
One of the staggering features about the ‘terms of venery’ is that some animals are associated with different collective nouns depending on their location. When on land, geese come in flocks and gaggles (which means ‘to cackle’ and is likely imitative in origin) but when in flight, geese come in skeins. Another example is swans. A group of swans is called a wedge when they are in flight, likely because of the shape that they take; while they are referred to as a bank when they are on land.
Domestication of animals was widely prevalent when Barnes wrote her book. In light of this fact, the collective nouns for dogs, cats and even their respective offspring were mentioned in the list. For instance, a kindle of kittens comes from the Middle English word ‘kindelen’, which meant to give birth. A group of cats is referred to as a clowder (meaning a ‘clotted mass’), a glaring, or a pounce. On the other hand, a group of feral cats is alarmingly called ‘a destruction’ (due to their nature of preying on migrating songbirds).
Some Other Collective Nouns and Their Origin:
A Murder of Crows
Etymologists suggest that the association of crows with death (probably because they are known to feed on the meat of dead bodies) might have led to the inception of such terminology but such assumptions remain speculation. Another explanation can be found in the superstition that the sight of a crow is considered to be a bad omen.
Such terminology could stem from the misguided 19th-century belief that ravens were not the most caring of parents; sometimes expelling their young from their nests to fend for themselves.
A Charm of Finches
The phrase suggests that people may have found finches to be sweet, harmless and fascinating birds.
A Superfluity of Nuns
This 15th-century term can be interpreted in two ways. The first being the mere fact and the severity of overcrowding of nuns in England during that time; and alternatively, the inception of the term could have been a result of the agitation movement in pursuit of church reforms.
A Shrewdness of Apes
Though it is only through the medium of recent research that we have been able to decipher the extent of the cognitive abilities of apes, the medieval man can be said to have had a similar intuition back in the 15th-century when they may have noted a form of playful mischievousness in the animals.
Collective Nouns and Their Relevance Today:
The neologism of collective nouns has been a novel pastime for many writers over the past few centuries however, the true origin of many of the collective nouns that appear in Berners’ compilation has been lost to time. New terminology, primarily associated with a striking characteristic of the particular animal in consideration, has since been adopted. An apt example in regards to this would be a dazzle of zebras.
Though some terms associated with collective nouns are now considered to be archaic and obsolete, a concept that originated in a jocular spirit has not lost its charm and more often than not, leaves children and adults in a fit of puerile laughter.
Written By - Saumya Seth
Edited By - Sravanthi Cheerladinne
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