Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

flockless

 - 2 dictionary results

flock

1[flok]
–noun
1. a number of animals of one kind, esp. sheep, goats, or birds, that keep or feed together or are herded together.
2. a large number of people; crowd.
3. a large group of things: a flock of letters to answer.
4. (in New Testament and ecclesiastical use)
a. the Christian church in relation to Christ.
b. a single congregation in relation to its pastor.
5. Archaic. a band or company of persons.
–verb (used without object)
6. to gather or go in a flock or crowd: They flocked around the football hero.

Origin:
bef. 1000; (n.) ME; OE floc; c. ON flokkr; (v.) ME, deriv. of the n.


flockless, adjective


1, 2. bevy, covey, flight, gaggle; brood, hatch, litter; shoal, school, swarm, group, company. Flock, drove, herd, pack refer to a company of animals, often under the care or guidance of someone. Flock is the popular term, which applies to groups of animals, esp. of sheep or goats, and companies of birds: This lamb is the choicest of the flock. A flock of wild geese flew overhead. Drove is esp. applied to a number of oxen, sheep, or swine when driven in a group: A drove of oxen was taken to market. A large drove of swine filled the roadway. Herd is usually applied to large animals such as cattle, originally meaning those under the charge of someone; but by extension, to other animals feeding or driven together: a buffalo herd; a herd of elephants. Pack applies to a number of animals kept together or keeping together for offense or defense: a pack of hounds kept for hunting; a pack of wolves. As applied to people, drove, herd, and pack carry a contemptuous implication.


See collective noun.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To flockless
Word Origin & History

flock  (n.)
O.E. flocc "a group of persons," related to O.N. flokkr "crowd, troop, band," M.L.G. vlocke "crowd, flock;" not found in other Gmc. languages, perhaps related to folc "people," but the metathesis would have been unusual for O.E. Extended c.1200 to "a number of animals of one kind moving or feeding together;" of domestic animals c.1300. Transferred to bodies of Christians, in relation to Christ or their local pastor, from c.1340. The verb meaning "to gather, congregate" is from c.1300.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see flockless on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: