Herd about the labour of moles : How we describe groups of animals

Q. A labour of moles What's that all about

A. A gang of moles has, since the 15th century, been known as 'a labour', presumably because the little things appear to work very hard digging their tunnels. And that's the unusual thing about many of the English words for groups of animals: that they often arise from physical or behavioural characteristics of the animal. So, for example, a sord of mallards comes from the old verb 'to sord', meaning 'to soar up' or 'to rise in flight'; or another example is a rag of colts, probably deriving from the Norse word meaning 'rug' and referring to their coats (rugga in some modern Norwegian dialects means coverlet).

Others names have arisen from the tasks that humans have employed the animals to do: so we have a yoke of oxen - from the yoke attaching the oxen to the plough - and a stud of mares, where the mares were kept exclusively for breeding purposes.

Q. So, what do we call these words

A. The are known collectively as collective nouns. Such words, when they are describing groups of humans or animals, are always singular, and when referring to the unit as a whole - 'my family is based in London' - take a singular verb; but if referring to members of the group as individuals - 'my family [they] are all based in London' - they take a plural.

Q. And some more examples from the animal kingdom

A. Antelopes, asses, buffaloes, cattle, cranes, curlews, deer, elephants, goats, horses, oxen, porpoises, seals, swans, wolves are all found in herds - though asses can also be in 'a pace', cattle in 'droves', cranes in 'sedges' or 'sieges', goats in 'tribes' or 'trips', horses in 'harrases', 'ramudas' or 'strings', oxen in 'teams' or 'droves', porpoises and seals in 'pods', swans in 'bevys', 'lamentations' or 'wedges', and wolves in 'packs'.

And we have:

A colony, swarm or army of ants

A shrewdness of apes

A culture of bacteria

A cete of badgers

A sleuth or sloth of bears

A colony of beavers

A swarm, grist or hive of bees

A flock, congregation, volary or dissimulation of birds

A sedge or siege of bitterns

A sounder or singular of boars

A brace or clash of bucks

An army of caterpillars

A clowder or clutter of cats

A brood or peep of chickens

A clutch or chattering of chicks

A bed of clams

A quiver of cobras

A cover of coots

A kine of cows

A float of crocodiles

A murder of crows

A litter of cubs

A cowardice of curs

A pack of dogs

A pod of dolphin

A dule of doves

A paddling or team of ducks

A clutch of eggs

A gang of elks

A mob of emus

A business or fesnyng of ferrets

A charm of finches

A school, shoal, run, haul, catch or drought of fish

A swarm of flies

A skulk or leash of foxes

An army or colony of frogs

A gaggle of geese, though a skein when in flight

A swarm, cloud or horde of gnats

A band of gorillas

A leash of greyhounds

A down or husk of hares

A cast or kettle of hawks

A brood of hens

A drift, passel or parcel of hogs

A pack, mute or cry of hounds

A smack of jellyfish

A troop or mob of kangaroos

A deceit of lapwings

An ascension or exaltation of larks

A leap or leep of leopards

A pride of lions

A tiding of magpies

A richness of martens

A troupe of monkeys

A barren or span of mules

A watch of nightingales

A parliament of owls

A covey of partridges

A muster or ostentation of peacocks

A nide, nye or bouquet of pheasants

A flock or flight of pigeons

A litter of pigs

A wing or congregation of plovers

A string of ponies

A pack or swarm of rats

A rhumba of rattlesnakes

An unkindness of ravens

A crash of rhinos

A bevy of roebucks

A building or clamour of rooks

A walk or wisp of snipe

A host of sparrows

A cluster or clutter of spiders

A dray of squirrels

A murmuration of starlings

A mustering of storks

A flight of swallows

A sounder or drift of swine

A spring of teal

A knot of toads

A hover of trout

A pitying or dule of turtledoves

A bale of turtles

A pod of walrus

A school, gam or pod of whales

A fall of woodcocks

A descent of woodpecker

Q. And humans

A. Team, mob, crowd, gathering, audience, as well as by profession, such as army or clergy - you get the idea.

For more on Phrases & Sayings click here

By Simon Smith