Rare & Collective

A parliament of owls draws on the bird's long-standing association with wisdom and counsel.

A pride of lions reflects the close social structure lions maintain within a single group.

A pod describes a group of whales and is also used for dolphins and other marine mammals.

A troop of monkeys reflects the organized social groups that many monkey species naturally form.

A business of ferrets ranks among English's more whimsical animal collective nouns.

A kaleidoscope of butterflies evokes the colorful, shifting patterns the insects create in flight.

A crash of rhinoceroses reflects the powerful, heavy movement the animals make as a group.

A shrewdness of apes reflects the notable intelligence long associated with the animals.

A cackle of hyenas is named for the animal's distinctive, laughter-like vocal calls.

An unkindness of ravens reflects old superstitions that once surrounded the bird.

A bloat of hippopotamuses refers to the animals' large, rounded physical appearance.

A skulk of foxes reflects the animal's longstanding reputation for sly, secretive behavior.

A charm of finches refers to the pleasant chorus the birds create when singing together.

Serendipity, meaning a fortunate accidental discovery, was coined by Horace Walpole from a Persian fairy tale.

Schadenfreude combines German words for harm and joy to describe pleasure at another's misfortune.

Zeitgeist, literally time spirit in German, names the defining mood of a particular era.

Saudade names a deep longing for something absent, considered central to Portuguese and Brazilian identity.

Hygge, Danish for cozy contentment, became an internationally popular lifestyle concept.

Gestalt describes a unified whole greater than its parts and lent its name to a whole school of psychology.

Wanderlust combines German words for wandering and desire to name a strong urge to travel.

Limerence, an intense state of romantic infatuation, was coined by a psychologist studying romantic love.

Petrichor names the pleasant earthy smell after rain and was coined by Australian researchers in the 1960s.

Defenestration, throwing someone from a window, has lent its name to several real historical incidents.

Doppelgänger, literally double-goer in German, names a look-alike double of a living person.

Ineffability describes something too great to put into words, often applied to profound experiences.

Halcyon days, meaning a peaceful happy period, is rooted in a Greek myth about a bird that calmed the seas.