Paul Boudreau wrote:
On Saturday, January 28, 1995 at 6:59:01 PM UTC-8, James J. Herlburt wrote:
Okay, I know you can have a pod of whales, a pack of wolves and a
murder of crows but does anyone know what a groups of lemmings would be
called?
A "blank" of lemmings.
It's driving me up the wall. I've tried James Lipton's wonderful book
"An Exaltation of Larks" which contains a listing of thousands of group
names but lemmings are not mentioned in the index.
Any help you can give would be most welcome.
James J. Hurlburt - - jjh37997@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu
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Unlike whales, wolves, and crows, which have specific collective nouns associated with them (pod, pack, and murder), there isn't a widely recognized collective noun for a group of lemmings.
Here's why:
Scientific Focus: In scientific contexts, lemmings are simply referred to as a colony or a population.
Myth vs. Reality: The popular image of lemmings mindlessly following each other off cliffs is a myth. Their mass migrations are more strategic movements in search of food or new habitats.
Informal Terms: There aren't any established informal terms used widely for a group of lemmings. Some online discussions propose terms like "implication" or "swarm" based on their movement patterns, but these haven't gained widespread acceptance.
So, while there isn't a special collective noun for lemmings, "colony" or "population" work best in formal contexts.
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