List_of_collective_nouns

List of animal names

List of animal names

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In the English language, many animals have different names depending on whether they are male, female, young, domesticated, or in groups.

"Young animal" redirects here. For the manga magazine, see Young Animal (magazine). For DC Comics imprint, see DC's Young Animal. For names applied to people, see Animal epithet.
"Parliament of Owls" redirects here. For the DC Comics fictional group, see Court of Owls.
Mother sea otter with sleeping pup, Morro Bay, California

The best-known source of many English words used for collective groupings of animals is The Book of Saint Albans, an essay on hunting published in 1486 and attributed to Juliana Berners.[1] Most terms used here may be found in common dictionaries and general information web sites.[2][3][4]

Generic terms

The terms in this table apply to many or all taxons in a particular biological family, class, or clade.

More information Scientific term, Trivial name ...

Terms by species or taxon

More information Animal, Young ...

Usage of collective nouns

Merriam-Webster writes that most terms of venery fell out of use in the 16th century, including a "murder" for crows. It goes on to say that some of the terms in The Book of Saint Albans were "rather fanciful", explaining that the book extended collective nouns to people of specific professions, such as a "poverty" of pipers. It concludes that for lexicographers, many of these do not satisfy criteria for entry by being "used consistently in running prose" without meriting explanation. Some terms that were listed as commonly used were "herd", "flock", "school", and "swarm".[117]

Writing for Audubon, Nicholas Lund says that many such terms are not used in actuality. When he interviewed scientists who specialize in studying specific animals, they had not heard of these terms, such as a "bask" of crocodiles or "wisdom" of wombats, being applied in their fields. Lund noted that the common plural nouns for animals were "flock" for birds and "herd" for cows, conceding that for certain animals in small groups, there was currency in usage such as a "pod" of whales or "gaggle" of geese.[118]

See also

Notes

  1. The term flange was originally used to denote a group of baboons in a Not the Nine O'Clock News comedy sketch entitled "Gerald the Intelligent Gorilla" where it was used for comic effect. It has since been used in the scientific literature for a collection of baboons.
  2. A worker bee is a sexually undeveloped female.
  3. Castrated male cattle are steers in the United States or bullocks in the United Kingdom. Oxen are draft animals that are (if male) usually castrated but not necessarily. A young cow that has not given birth is a heifer. See Cattle for more names. Cows is often used informally to refer to cattle in general.
  4. Bovine refers to all species of genus Bos.
  5. The term aerie is a classic 15th-century term of venery that refers to only two "hawks of the tower" but, in modern usage, does not necessarily have the same numerical constraint.[68] Aerie also refers to hawks and other birds of prey nesting high on a mountain top.[68] Confusingly, hawks of the tower are technically falcons and not hawks.
  6. The term cast is a classic 15th-century term of venery that refers to only two "hawks of the tower" but, in modern usage, does not necessarily have the same numerical constraint.[68] Confusingly, hawks of the tower are technically falcons and not hawks.
  7. The term flight is a classic 15th-century term of venery that refers to only "hawks of the wrist" to include goshawks and sparrowhawks.[68] Hawks of the wrist are true hawks in the genus Accipiter.
  8. The term leash is a classic 15th-century term of venery that refers to only three "hawks of the tower" but, in modern usage, does not necessarily have the same numerical constraint.[68] Confusingly, hawks of the tower are technically falcons and not hawks.
  9. The term staff is a classic 15th-century term of venery that refers to only three "hawks of the tower" but, in modern usage, does not necessarily have the same numerical constraint.[68] Confusingly, hawks of the tower are technically falcons and not hawks.

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