Where do terms for animal groups come from?
Where do terms for animal groups come from?
Terms for groups of animals—such as a "pride" of lions, a "murder" of crows, or a "gaggle" of geese—are fascinating linguistic relics. While some are rooted in scientific observation, many have surprising and whimsical origins.
1. The Book of Saint Albans (1486)
Many of the most colorful and unusual collective nouns come from a 15th-century English book on hunting, hawking, and heraldry known as The Book of Saint Albans. Attributed traditionally to a prioress named Juliana Berners, this text introduced the concept of "terms of venery" (hunting terms).
In medieval European culture, knowing the correct terminology for the animals you hunted was a marker of high social status and aristocratic education. The nobility took great pleasure in inventing elaborate, poetic, and sometimes mocking terms for animal groups. Examples from this era include:
- A "pride" of lions
- A "sloth" of bears
- An "exaltation" of larks
2. Literary Inventions and Misprints
Not all terms arose from authentic medieval traditions; some were later inventions or even historical mistakes.
- A "murder" of crows: This stems from old folklore associating crows and ravens with death and battlefield carnage, which later became codified in poetry and literature.
- A "flock" or "herd": These are more functional, descriptive terms based on simple observation of how animals gather and move together.
- Modern additions: Authors, birdwatchers, and internet culture continue to invent playful terms today (like a "business" of ferrets or a "shimmer" of hummingbirds), keeping this linguistic tradition alive.