From prides of lions to pods of whales, discover the traditional and whimsical collective nouns for mammals.
A group of buffalo is appropriately known as an obstinacy. What Does “An Obstinacy of Buffalo” Mean? “Obstinacy” is a character reference as much as a collective noun, and buffalo have more than earned it. African buffalo in particular have a reputation, among guides, researchers, and anyone who’s spent time around them, for being unpredictable … Read more
A group of cats is appropriately known as a cluster. What Does “A Cluster of Cats” Mean? “Cluster” leans into a very specific, very relatable cat behavior: piling together for warmth. Cats are drawn to heat sources with almost magnetic reliability, a sunny windowsill, a radiator, a laundry pile fresh from the dryer, and when … Read more
A group of cats is appropriately known as a clutter. What Does “A Clutter of Cats” Mean? “Clutter” sits close enough to “cluster” in both sound and meaning that the two are frequently used interchangeably, and some sources even treat “clutter” as simply a playful corruption of “clowder” rather than its own distinct word. Whatever … Read more
A group of cats is appropriately known as a dout. What Does “A Dout of Cats” Mean? “Dout” is one of the more obscure entries in the cat collective-noun family, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise. It shows up in older regional word lists alongside its close cousin “dowt,” but a clear, verifiable origin … Read more
A group of cats is appropriately known as a dowt. What Does “A Dowt of Cats” Mean? “Dowt” is best understood as a spelling variant of “dout” rather than a wholly separate word, the kind of small regional or dialectal drift that shows up often in old English word lists, where a single term could … Read more
A group of cats is appropriately known as a glaring. What Does “A Glaring of Cats” Mean? Of all the cat collective nouns, “glaring” is probably the most immediately vivid, and it’s easy to see why. Cats are intense starers by nature, and multiple cats fixing their attention on the same thing, a bird outside … Read more
A group of cats is appropriately known as a kindle. What Does “A Kindle of Cats” Mean? “Kindle” is the older of two collective nouns on this site that both essentially mean a group of kittens born together, the other being the more familiar “litter.” The word comes from an archaic use of “kindle” as … Read more
A group of cats is appropriately known as a litter. What Does “A Litter of Cats” Mean? “Litter” is the modern, widely understood term for a group of kittens born to the same mother in the same birth, and unlike some entries on this list, there’s nothing obscure about it, it’s simply the standard word … Read more
A group of cats is appropriately known as a clowder. What Does “A Clowder of Cats” Mean? “Clowder” is the most historically established collective noun for domestic cats, likely derived from “clodder” or “clutter,” old dialect words describing a clotted or clumped-together mass. It’s one of the few cat-related collective nouns with a reasonably traceable … Read more