clowder

== English == === Etymology === A variation, recorded since 1801, of clutter, itself from clot, from Old English clott (“round mass, lump”), from Proto-Germanic *klūtaz (hence cognate with Dutch kloot (“ball, testicle”), Danish klods (“a block, lump”) and German Klotz (“lump, block”)). === Pronunciation === (US) IPA(key): /ˈklaʊ̯dɚ/ (UK) IPA(key): /ˈklaʊ̯də/ Homophone: clouder === Noun === clowder (plural clowders) A group of cats or other small felines. 1984 15 April, Nelson Bryant, “Bevies of Terms Befuddle Prides”, in The New York Times: A Brooklyn friend who persists in feeding the host of creatures - including me - who appear at her door will be delighted to know that the most nonchalant recipients of her largesse may be referred to as a clowder of cats. 2010, The Big Bang Theory, episode “The Zazzy Substitution” Leonard: You’re clearly upset about Amy being gone, and you’re trying to replace her with a bunch of cats. Sheldon: Clowder. Leonard: What? Sheldon: A group of cats is a clowder. Or a glaring. It’s the kind of thing you ought to know now that we have one. 2011, M.D. Pueppke, Fuzzy the Cat, The One and Only, “Getting on terms with the terms” How ‛bout organizing a party of clowder chowder. You know, big servings of chowder for the cat clowder. ==== Synonyms ==== (collective noun for “cats”): glaring ==== Hyponyms ==== (collective noun for “cats”): kindle (group of kittens) ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== pride (for big felines) Appendix:English collective nouns === References === Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. 12 Oct. 2006. Dictionary.com article Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “clowder”, in Online Etymology Dictionary. === Anagrams === wordcel, crowled