flock

== English == === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /flɒk/ (US) IPA(key): /flɑk/ Rhymes: -ɒk === Etymology 1 === From Middle English flok, from Old English flocc (“flock, company, troop”), from Proto-West Germanic *flokk, from Proto-Germanic *flukkaz (“crowd, troop”). Cognate with German Low German Flock (“crowd, flock”), Danish flok (“flock”), Swedish flock (“flock”), Norwegian flokk (“flock”), Faroese flokkur (“flock”), Icelandic flokkur (“flock, group”). Related also to Norman fliotchet (“flock, crowd”), from Old Norse. Perhaps related to Old English folc (“crowd, troop, band”). More at folk. ==== Noun ==== flock (plural flocks) A number of birds together in a group, such as those gathered together for the purpose of migration. A large number of animals associated together in a group; commonly used of sheep, but (dated) also used for goats, farmed animals, and a wide variety of animals. Those served by a particular pastor or shepherd. A large number of people. Synonym: congregation (Christianity) A religious congregation. Synonym: congregation ===== Synonyms ===== (large number of people): bunch, gaggle, horde, host, legion, litter, nest, rabble, swarm, throng, wake ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== flock (third-person singular simple present flocks, present participle flocking, simple past and past participle flocked) (intransitive) To congregate in or head towards a place in large numbers. (transitive, obsolete) To flock to; to crowd. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From Middle English flok (“tuft of wool”), from Old French floc (“tuft of wool”), from Late Latin floccus (“tuft of wool”), probably from Frankish *flokko (“down, wool, flock”), from Proto-Germanic *flukkōn-, *flukkan-, *fluksōn- (“down, flock”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“hair, fibres, tuft”). Cognate with Old High German flocko (“down”), Middle Dutch vlocke (“flock”), Norwegian dialectal flugsa (“snowflake”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian flok (“hair”). ==== Noun ==== flock (countable and uncountable, plural flocks) Coarse tufts of wool or cotton used in bedding. A lock of wool or hair. Very fine sifted woollen refuse, especially that from shearing the nap of cloths, formerly used as a coating for wallpaper to give it a velvety or clothlike appearance; also, the dust of vegetable fibre used for a similar purpose. ===== Derived terms ===== flock paper flock worker's lung ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== flock (third-person singular simple present flocks, present participle flocking, simple past and past participle flocked) (transitive) To coat a surface with dense fibers or particles; especially, to create a dense arrangement of fibers with a desired nap. (transitive) To cover a Christmas tree with artificial snow. (transitive) To treat a pool with chemicals to remove suspended particles. Synonym: floc ===== Derived terms ===== flocked ===== Translations ===== === See also === Appendix:English collective nouns == Swedish == === Etymology === From Old Swedish flokker, flukker, from Old Norse flokkr, from Proto-Germanic *flukkaz. Cognate with Faroese flokkur, Icelandic flokkur, Norwegian flokk, and Danish flok. === Pronunciation === === Noun === flock c a flock (group of animals (or people, by extension, often emphasizing lack of independence or the like)) a gaggle (of geese) a murder (of crows) a muster (of peafowl) a pride (of lions) (Christianity) a flock ==== Declension ==== ==== Related terms ==== flockas ==== See also ==== skock === References === flock in Svensk ordbok (SO) flock in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL) flock in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)