flock

Meaning

Noun

1. A number of birds together in a group, such as those gathered together for the purpose of migration.
2. 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.
3. Those served by a particular pastor or shepherd.
4. A large number of people.
5. A religious congregation.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To congregate in or head towards a place in large numbers.
2. (obsolete, transitive) To flock to; to crowd.

Verb

1. (transitive) To coat a surface with dense fibers or particles; especially, to create a dense arrangement of fibers with a desired nap.
2. (transitive) To cover a Christmas tree with artificial snow.
3. (transitive) To treat a pool with chemicals to remove suspended particles.

Synonyms

herd

swarm

crowd

group

pack

throng

multitude

school

🏫

collection

drove

mass

shoal

troop

horde

gather

bevy

cluster

band

flight

✈️

mob

congregate

company

stream

assemblage

clump

bunch

gaggle

class

batch

gang

pile

heap

circle

⭕

assembly

covey

rabble

tribe

skein

team

raft

brood

fold

pride

sheep

🐑

party

🥳

pod

mint

mickle

lot

mess

Translations

troupeau

rebaño

gregge

grex

Herde

Schar

sürü

αγέλη

volée

stormo

branco

Schwarm

kudde

rebanho

Pronounced as (IPA)

/flɒk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: flok

Inherited from Old English: flocc

Cognate with Middle Low German: vlocke

Cognate with Danish: flok

Cognate with Swedish: flock

Cognate with Norwegian: flokk

Cognate with Faroese: flokkur

Cognate with Icelandic: flokkur

Cognate with Jèrriais: fliotchet

Cognate with Old English: folc

Cognate with Old High German: flocko

Cognate with Middle Dutch: vlocke

Cognate with Norwegian: -

Cognate with Albanian: flokë

In summary

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.

Sentences

Now he was here not with his flock , but with a shovel .