What Does “A Plump of Whales” Mean?
“Plump” is an old English collective noun with documented historical use, though it traditionally appears more often describing groups of waterfowl than whales specifically. Its extension to whales likely follows the same general pattern seen elsewhere on this site, an existing, flexible group word applied to a new animal because the fit felt reasonable, rather than a term coined with whales specifically in mind.
A precise account of exactly when or why “plump” crossed over from birds to whales isn’t something we could confirm with full confidence. What we can say is that “plump” fits into a broader category of older English collective nouns describing a compact, closely gathered mass, a description that works reasonably well for a tight group of surfacing whales, densely clustered together at the water’s surface, even without a documented whale-specific origin story behind the word.
Example: “A plump of whales surfaced together off the bow, close enough that their spouts nearly overlapped.”
Other Collective Nouns for Whales
A group of whales goes by more than one name. Depending on the species and context, you might also hear:
- A Gam of Whales
- A Shard of Whales
- A Grind of Whales
- A Herd of Whales
- A Mob of Whales
- A Pod of Whales
- A School of Whales
- A Float of Whales
- A Shoal of Whales
- A Run of Whales
- A Troupe of Whales
Related: Collective Nouns for Mammals