Groups of animals, especially sheep or birds, that travel and feed together; also means clusters of wool or cotton fibers.
From Old English 'flocc,' possibly derived from Old Norse 'flóki.' Originally referred to wool or hair, then came to mean a group of animals that would be herded together using wool products—the meanings became intertwined in medieval English.
Sheep form flocks because individual sheep are basically terrified freeloaders—they're so vulnerable that scientists discovered a single 'Judas sheep' trained to lead a flock to slaughter, which worked because sheep would rather follow their group to their doom than face predators alone.
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