Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 263, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 November 1912 — LANGUAGE USED IN SPORTING [ARTICLE]

LANGUAGE USED IN SPORTING

Many of Terms--la Our Inheritance From Middle Agee—Phraseology Extended to Man. x Much of the language used In various sports Is our Inheritance from the middle ages. Different kinds of beasts when in companies were distinguished by their own particular epithet, which was supposed to be In some manner descriptive of the habits pf the anfinals. To use the wrong form of these words subjected the would-be sportsman to ridicule. Many of these terms have passed away, but some of them are still retained. This list from the middle ages is still good usage today. A “pride" of lions, a “lepe" of leopards, a “herd" of harts and of all sorts of deer, a “bevy” of roes, a "sloth" of hears, a “singular” of boars, a “sounder” of wild swine, a “route” of wolves, a “harras” of horses, a “ray" of colts, a “stud” of mares, a “pace" of asses, a “barren" of mules, a “team" of oxen, a “drove” of klne, a “flock" of sheep, a “trite” of goats, a “skulk" of foxes, a “down” of hares, a "nestv of rabbits, a "clowder” of cats, a “schrewdness” of apes and a “labor" of moles. Also, of animals when they retired to rest, a hart was said to be "harbored," a roebuck “bedded," a hare "formed,” a rabbit “set” Two greyhounds were called a “brace," but two harriers were called a “couple.” There was also a “mute" of hounds for a number, a "kennel” of raches, a "litter” of whelps and a "cowardice” of curs. This kind of descriptive phraseology was not confined to birds and beasts, but was extended to the human species and their various propensities, natures and callings.