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flock1
—flockless, adj./flok/, n.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.v.i.6. to gather or go in a flock or crowd: They flocked around the football hero.[bef. 1000; (n.) ME; OE floc; c. ON flokkr; (v.) ME, deriv. of the n.]Syn. 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.Usage. See collective noun.flock2/flok/, n.1. a lock or tuft of wool, hair, cotton, etc.2. (sometimes used with a pl. v.) wool refuse, shearings of cloth, old cloth torn to pieces, or the like, for upholstering furniture, stuffing mattresses, etc.3. Also called flocking. (sometimes used with a pl. v.) finely powdered wool, cloth, etc., used for producing a velvetlike pattern on wallpaper or cloth or for coating metal.4. floc (def. 1).v.t.5. to stuff with flock, as a mattress.6. to decorate or coat with flock, as wallpaper, cloth, or metal.
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Universalium. 2010.
