covey

American  

[kuhv-ee] / ˈkʌv i /

noun

plural

coveys

1. a brood or small flock of partridges or similar birds.

2. a group, set, or company.

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covey British  

/ ˈkʌvɪ /

noun

1. a small flock of grouse or partridge

2. a small group, as of people

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Etymology

Origin of covey

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English, variant of covee, from Anglo-French, Old French, noun use of feminine of past participle of cover “to hatch,” from Latin cubāre “to lie down”; cf. couvade, concubine

Explanation

A covey is a social group of birds. You can also use it for a group of people, like the covey of kids that hangs out on the playground after school. The roots of covey go back to the Latin cubare, "incubate or hatch." The word was originally used for a brood of newly-hatched partridges or other similar birds. Today it can refer to one family group, like a mother pigeon and her chicks, or a flock that hangs out together. Feel free to describe other groups using this word, like the covey of tourists walking slowly down the sidewalk with their map as the locals dodge past them.

Example Sentences

Now, the family keeps a covey of cloth masks in a basket near the front door.

From Washington Post • May 30, 2020

One surprise in his black art exhibition was the inclusion of “Virginian Partridge,” a dramatic 1830 John James Audubon graphic showing a fierce red hawk going after a covey of fluttering quail.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2020

From businesses, governments and organisations, a scripted response will fail to resonate as it will not covey empathy and compassion.

From BBC • Jan. 18, 2018

Mr. Barrett was, by example, a tutor to a covey of ambitious interns and journalism students, despite a hair-trigger temper.

From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2017

Every time she broke something, the ladies in the fountain cried “Oooo!” like a covey of frightened doves.

From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer