A "Murder" of Crows一“谋杀”乌鸦？

Why Is A Group Of Crows Called A "Murder"?

为什么一群乌鸦被称为一“谋杀”乌鸦？

In the 15th century, aristocratic British hunters invented some whimsical labels for groups of animals, like a "gaggle"of geese, a "skulk" of foxes, and a "charm" of finches. These "collective nouns" allow the hunters to share their appreciation for nature's animals, before shooting them.

十五世纪时，爱打猎的英国贵族们心血来潮地给许多动物贴上了标签，像是一“嘎嘎”鹅，一“鬼祟”狐狸，以及一“喳喳”雀鸟，这些集合名词让猎人们得以相互交流他们对自然界动物的感情，然后呢，再射杀它们。

And unlike those unlucky critters, this fanciful way of describing groups of animals has survived the centuries, giving rise to "pods" of whales, "mobs" of kangaroos and "clowders" of cats. Even though these terms rarely make it into the formal scientific literature, where it's often clearer to just refer to "groups of animals" as "group". Lots of people, including scientists, use collective nouns elsewhere.

这些可怜的小东西们虽然死翘翘了，但这些古怪的集合名词却流传了几百年，衍生出了一“豆荚”鲸，一“暴徒”袋鼠，一“团团”猫这些表达方式。这些词很少出现在正式的科学文献里，因为在正式文献中，用“群”来表达动物集体更加明确，但是包括科学家们在内的很多人都在别处使用这些集合名词。

That's because replacing a generic label with a specialized mini-metaphor allows us to communicate something interesting about the animals. Terms like a "leap" of leopards and a "romp" of otters give us a sense of their behavior. Terms like a "murmuration" of starlings and a "crash" of rhinos let us hear them nearby. And terms like a "murder" of crows and an "exultation" of larks make us feel a particular way due to their presence.

因为相比于通称，这种量身定制的小隐喻能让我们对各类动物的特别之处津津乐道。一“飞跃”豹子，一“嬉戏”水獭这类表达，可让人联想到这些动物的行为。一“咕哝”椋鸟，一“撞”犀牛这类表达让这些动物如在耳畔。一“谋杀”乌鸦，一“激昂”云雀这类表达体现出了我们看到这些动物时有何感受。

Just like the 15th century hunters, we also collectively noun the creatures modern to our day, like a "mischief" of Pikachus or a "cog" of robots.

如同十五世纪的猎人一样，我们也会为一些现代产物造集合名词，像是一“精灵古怪”皮卡丘，一“咔嚓咔嚓”机器人。

You may regard them as ridiculous terms. But at its heart, this is just people showing their passion and appreciation for nature and language and fun. Taken all together, the "ballet" of nutcrackers, "parliament" of owls, "flutterby" of butterflies, "knot" of toads, "labour" of moles, "wisdom" of wombats and so on, are a "whimsy" of collective nouns.

你可能觉得这很搞笑。但究其本质，这只是人们表达对自然和语言之乐趣的热爱和重视。总的来说，一“芭蕾”星鸦，一“议员”猫头鹰，一“翩翩”蝴蝶，一“疙瘩”蟾蜍，一“勤劳”鼹鼠，一“睿智”袋熊等等，这些都是一“奇思妙想”的集合名词。

英语里还有哪些 piece- and group- words？

当然，除去上述声情并茂的各种说法，下面这些piece- and group- words大家就相对比较熟悉了：

描述“一群......”：

a crowd/group/army/team/of people 一群人

a herd of cattle/elephants/horses/swans 一群牛、象、马、天鹅

a flock of birds/geese/hens/swallows 一群鸟、鹅、母鸡、燕子

a pack of hounds/wolves 一群猎狗、狼

描述“一丝、一点、一层......”：

a shadow of doubt 一丝疑虑

a streak of moonlight 一缕月光

a layer of frost/snow/cream 一层霜、雪、糖霜

描述“一阵......”：

a burst of tears/cheers/gunfire/thunder 一阵哭泣、喝彩、炮击、雷声

a flood of tears/rain/boasts 一阵泪雨、大雨、夸耀

a puff of smoke/dust 一阵烟、尘土

编辑说：

如果你知道更多有趣的piece- and group- words，欢迎留言补充~

指导：杜一朋

编辑：乔世平

审校：陈怡宇返回搜狐，查看更多