Someone just made these up in the middle ages: https://www.quora.com/Why-is-a-gr... | Hacker News

Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit

DonaldFisk on March 22, 2018 | parent | context | favorite | on: Number systems of the world, sorted by complexity ...

Someone just made these up in the middle ages:

https://www.quora.com/Why-is-a-group-of-crows-called-a-murde...

I have never heard or read the words "a murder of crows" (or "a parliament of owls" and similar contrivances) except in lists of collective nouns.

thaumasiotes on March 22, 2018 [–]

The example was poorly chosen, but obligatory measure words are very much a feature of English; compare "a pair of pants" / "a pair of scissors" / "a pair of glasses" / "a loaf of bread". Note that all of those "pairs" refer to a single object.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact