What Animals Form a Cast?
A falconer’s throw and a beekeeper’s afterthought — the same word, two very different flights.
Which Animals Form a Cast?
Two very different animals carry “cast” as a collective noun: falcons and bees. For falcons, it’s about as close to an official term as collective nouns get, borrowed directly from the language of falconry. For bees, it’s more of an insider’s word — not a synonym for “a bunch of bees,” but a specific type of swarm.
Where Does “Cast” Come From?
“Cast” traces back to the Old Norse word kasta, meaning “to throw” or “to fling,” which entered English around 1200. For centuries afterward, “cast” was the everyday word for throwing, before “throw” gradually took over most of its jobs, leaving “cast” to specialize in narrower uses: casting a fishing line, casting a glance, casting metal in a mold.
In falconry, “casting” a hawk or falcon meant releasing it into the air to fly and hunt. From there, “a cast” came to describe the birds released together — traditionally a pair of hawks or falcons flown as a team. It’s one of the more literal terms of venery, describing exactly what falconers were doing rather than reaching for a poetic metaphor.
Cast (the Movie Kind) vs. Cast (the Collective Noun)
Unlike some collective nouns that only coincidentally share a spelling with an unrelated word, the “cast” of a play or film is genuinely the same word as the collective noun, just a later branch of the same “throw” root. “To cast” a role meant, metaphorically, to throw or place an actor into a part; theatrical casting is recorded from the early 1700s, building on the earlier sense of casting molten metal into a mold. So a falcon’s cast and a movie’s cast aren’t just spelled alike — they both grew out of the same idea of throwing or placing something with intent.
Animal-by-Animal Breakdown
Falcons: Most commonly called a cast, traditionally referring to a pair of falcons or hawks flown together on a hunt. “Soar” is a well-known alternate, but “cast” is the term most consistently cited as primary, thanks to its direct falconry roots.
Bees: Most commonly called a swarm in flight, or a hive/colony once settled. “Cast” is a specific beekeeping term, not a general synonym: it names an afterswarm, a smaller secondary swarm that leaves the hive following the departure of the main, or “prime,” swarm, usually led by a virgin queen. It’s accurate, but it’s a narrower word than the everyday “swarm.”
🧠 Test Your Knowledge
Three quick questions. See what stuck.1. In traditional falconry, what does “a cast” refer to?
2. In beekeeping, what specifically is a “cast”?
3. What does the Old Norse root of “cast,” “kasta,” mean?
Frequently Asked Questions
What animals form a cast?
Bees and falcons are both linked with “cast” as a collective noun, though it means something different for each: it’s the primary term for falcons, and a specific type of swarm for bees.
Is “cast” the main collective noun for falcons?
Yes. “Cast” is widely cited as the primary, most traditional collective noun for falcons, rooted in falconry practice. “Soar” is a common alternate.
What is a “cast” of bees?
In beekeeping, a cast (or afterswarm) is a secondary swarm that leaves a hive after the main swarm has already departed, typically smaller and led by a virgin queen.
Is a movie’s “cast” related to the collective noun “cast”?
Yes, genuinely. Both trace back to the same Old Norse root meaning “to throw.” The movie sense comes from “casting” performers into roles, a later metaphorical extension of that same throwing idea.
Where does the word “cast” come from?
It comes from the Old Norse word kasta, meaning “to throw,” entering English around 1200. Its falconry sense, releasing or “casting” a hawk into the air, gave rise to its use as a collective noun.