Piece, bunch, pair

Posted by Bruce Kahl on April 03, 2003

In Reply to: Piece, bunch, pair posted by R. Berg on April 02, 2003

: : : : Is there a special term for words such as a PIECE of cloth, a BUNCH of flowers, a PAIR of chopsticks? I don't think it is "quantifier" but I am dying to find out what they are called. Please help. Thanks.

: : : Collective noun?

: : I think collective noun means words such as machinery for machine, poetry for poem, etc.

: "Machinery" and "poetry" may or may not be collective nouns, depending on how they're used. Purer examples of collective nouns are "orchestra" (meaning the musicians) and "family"--from the American Heritage Dictionary. Some others: "herd," "flock," "litter," "Senate."