Terms of venery –
Appears to be a synonym for collective noun:
Collective nouns are nouns that refer to a collection or group of multiple people, animals, or things. However, even though collective nouns refer to multiple individuals, they still function as singular nouns in a sentence. This is because they still are technically referring to one thing: the group as a whole. [The Free Dictionary]
Noted in “Chain e-mail claims that when baboons congregate, it’s called a ‘congress’,” C. Eugene Emery Jr., PolitiFact:
The names for collections of animals are called “terms of venery,” and Hargraves said the best reference source for them is the 1968 book “An Exaltation of Larks” by James Lipton, host of “Inside the Actors Studio.”
