cllective noun

Question

While learning collective nouns I have come across with "cry of actors" and "entrance of actresses" what do they mean? where are they uesd?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

fatima akram7696 While learning collective nouns I have come across with "cry of actors" and "entrance of actresses" what do they mean? where are they uesd?

I don't see what those expressions have to do with collective nouns. If indeed 'cry' and 'entrance' are listed somewhere as the collective terms for a group of actors and actress, respectively, then they are simply fanciful terms that someone made up. There are many of these, for example, 'a murder of crows'. I would not take them seriously.

CJ

Deadrat · Answer

You've been spending time at collectivenouns.net, haven't you? Many of the terms are facetious, like "a complex of psychiatrists." This type of thing has a long history in the English language, going back to books of venery. (Here "venery'" is an archaic word for "hunting.) These books vied with each other to compile the longest lists of collective nouns, and many of those were no doubt fanciful, or at least ended up with no written existence other than the lists in which they appeared.

A "murder of crows" is not one of the fanciful, however. The OED records its usage as a collective noun in the 1400s. It became obsolete but was revived in the 20th century. There's a 1998 film of that name starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Tom Berenger.

cllective noun

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