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What makes up a bevy?
There’s no need to quail when confronted with a word of uncertain origins; some mysteries are simply destined to remain as such. Etymologists have a bevy of theories about the roots of bevy, for example, but little definitive evidence—and that’s okay! What we do know is that bevy emerged out of Middle English as the collective noun for a number of birds and mammals that were commonly hunted, including pheasants, partridges, roe deer, larks, and especially quail. Bevy is still used in this way today, not only for wild game but for gulls, hens, etc. But bevies are now most often composed of a great many people and things, as in “a bevy of reporters” or “a bevy of menu options.”
Examples of bevy in a Sentence
Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 12 Sep. 2025
Tran has faced a bevy of legal charges since leaving office.
—State House News Service, Boston Herald, 11 Sep. 2025
Instead, Barrett stressed the importance of collegiality among the justices on the nation’s highest court and how her law clerks weed through the bevy of amicus briefs the court receives, only passing along to her those that lay out legal arguments rather than policy ones.
—Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 10 Sep. 2025
With the return of season 2 on Netflix, fans were treated to even more Wednesday (Jenna Ortega), Enid (Emma Myers), Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and a bevy of new characters — including one played by Lady Gaga.
—Hedy Phillips, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bevy
Cite this Entry
“Bevy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bevy. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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