bevy

/ˈbɛvi/

Other forms: bevies

A bevy is a flock of birds. Although the term can be used for a variety of birds, it most often refers specifically to a bevy of quail. Other terms exist to describe flocks of other types of birds — a murder of crows, for example.

A bevy can also describe a large gathering of people, usually of the same type (a bevy of schoolchildren; a bevy of tourists). Most often, however, bevy is used to refer to a gathering of women. At a family reunion, you may find your grandmother holding court in the kitchen with a bevy of female relations. Young, attractive women are sometimes referred to, somewhat poetically, as "a bevy of beauties."

Definitions of bevy

1. noun

   a flock of birds (especially when gathered close together on the ground)
   “we were visited at breakfast by a bevy of excited ducks”

   type of:

   flock

   a group of birds
2. noun

   a large, disorganized group of people
   “a bevy of young beach boys swarmed around him”

   synonyms: gaggle

   type of:

   assemblage, gathering

   a group of persons together in one place