Collective nouns in English

The Monkey · 08-22-2011, 08:26 AM

English is such a strange language, gotta love it.

List of collective nouns by collective term A-K - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
List of collective nouns by collective term L-Z - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some of my favourites:

An unkindness of ravens
A shrewdness of apes
A parliament of owls
A drunkenship of cobblers
A murder of crows
A disworship of Scots

Batty · 08-22-2011, 08:35 PM

My favourite is "A load of Bollocks"

Dayvan Cowboy · 08-23-2011, 03:27 PM

"A nucleus of physicists"
worst. collective noun. ever.

jackhammer · 08-31-2011, 07:12 PM

What a lot of people don't know or understand is that the English language has had so many influences from the constant invaders that we had in over 1200 years post BC that is only natural for it to be so expansive and confusing.

The fact that it has survived at all and become such a powerful language is astonishing considering the battering it has taken from other cultures.

Simple words like Pig (English) also became Pork (French) through Norman invasion but even the Normans submitted and spoke English in the end despite their domination socially and politically in the middle ages.

This is why English is a minefield of similar sounding words for many disconnected objects.

Bear - animal
Bare - naked

Rain - weather related
Reign - era of royal rule

both pronounced exactly the same but spelt differently and meaning completely different things.

CanwllCorfe · 08-31-2011, 08:01 PM

Though
Through
Thought
Thorough

The Monkey · 09-01-2011, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackhammer

What a lot of people don't know or understand is that the English language has had so many influences from the constant invaders that we had in over 1200 years post BC that is only natural for it to be so expansive and confusing.

The fact that it has survived at all and become such a powerful language is astonishing considering the battering it has taken from other cultures.

Simple words like Pig (English) also became Pork (French) through Norman invasion but even the Normans submitted and spoke English in the end despite their domination socially and politically in the middle ages.

This is why English is a minefield of similar sounding words for many disconnected objects.

Bear - animal
Bare - naked

Rain - weather related
Reign - era of royal rule

both pronounced exactly the same but spelt differently and meaning completely different things.

Another effect of it's vast number of influences is the number of synonyms. Little - small and big - large are just two examples of very common words that have the same meaning. I think the extent of the number of synonyms is pretty unique to English. While it might be confusing for learners of the language, it also allows for a big flexibility that enchants its poetic and lyrical potential.

08-22-2011, 08:26 AM	#1 (permalink)
The Monkey Music Addict Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Sweden Posts: 803	Collective nouns in English English is such a strange language, gotta love it. List of collective nouns by collective term A-K - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia List of collective nouns by collective term L-Z - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Some of my favourites: An unkindness of ravens A shrewdness of apes A parliament of owls A drunkenship of cobblers A murder of crows A disworship of Scots __________________ Now another stranger seems to want you to ignore his dreams as though they were the burden of some other My Last.fm

08-22-2011, 08:35 PM	#2 (permalink)
Batty Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: South Australia Posts: 194	My favourite is "A load of Bollocks" __________________ http://www.last.fm/user/Batt1958/charts Earworms Rool.

08-31-2011, 07:12 PM	#4 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	What a lot of people don't know or understand is that the English language has had so many influences from the constant invaders that we had in over 1200 years post BC that is only natural for it to be so expansive and confusing. The fact that it has survived at all and become such a powerful language is astonishing considering the battering it has taken from other cultures. Simple words like Pig (English) also became Pork (French) through Norman invasion but even the Normans submitted and spoke English in the end despite their domination socially and politically in the middle ages. This is why English is a minefield of similar sounding words for many disconnected objects. Bear - animal Bare - naked Rain - weather related Reign - era of royal rule both pronounced exactly the same but spelt differently and meaning completely different things. __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

08-31-2011, 08:01 PM	#5 (permalink)
CanwllCorfe Quiet Man in the Corner Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Pocono Mountains Posts: 2,480	Though Through Thought Thorough __________________ Your eyes were never yet let in to see the majesty and riches of the mind, but dwell in darkness; for your God is blind.

08-23-2011, 03:27 PM	#3 (permalink)
Dayvan Cowboy Basscadet Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Antarctica Posts: 1,258	"A nucleus of physicists" worst. collective noun. ever.