Whitwick & District U3A - Fun with Words
Objective
We are W&D's newest group, formed during the Covid pandemic. We are interested in anything to do with words - story or poetry writing, alliteration, onomatapoeia, similes, the origin of words, collective nouns - there's endless possibilities. There'll be a monthly challenge, set by any one of the group members. And a chance to comment on what's been presented, but always in a positive way. For now, we'll be meeting via a monthly email session.
Please note that in line with Government Covid restrictions, many physical group meetings are currently suspended.
BUT the group is meeting via email
To start, we thought we would look at collective nouns. They are peculiar to the English language and can be dated back to the Norman conquest when the aristocracy were French and continued to speak French whilst the poor continued to use the local language - Anglo-Saxon English. Courtly hunting was all the rage with its own special vocabulary known as terms of venery. These would include such examples as:
- A confusion of guinea fowl
- A bellow of bullfinches
Terms of venery were colourful, affected and very popular. In 1486, the Book of St. Albans included:
- A fighting of beggars
- A gaggle of women
The tradition has continued with modern uses:
- An embarrassment of riches
- A horror of Covid
- A chatter of U3A members
There are many others and no doubt you can think of more. Next month our challenge will be to write a story in 100 words.
Contact
Lynda Hall 
Lynne Cox
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