It occurs to me that groups must be pretty important to us. English really only has one word that means love but group has been split atomically. Is it because we want to belong to a group? Does it help us to give meaning to our lives? Or is it that we name these "groups" to ensure our own uniqueness?
Here are a few synonyms of group that I was thinking of while I was collecting seashells by the sea shore: team, community, club, committee, gaggle, pack, squad, herd, pride, murder, congregation, troop, colony, battalion, litter, brood, gang, flock, posse, generation, mob, school, and bunch. That's 23 different ways to say group. As I continue to type, I continue to think of more. I have no idea why it is so important to distinguish that a group of dogs is a "pack" but a group of geese is a "gaggle" or a "flock." Yet, it's nearly impossible for me to name the different feelings of love I feel without resorting to Greek words, metaphors or examples.
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