Murder of crows

Origin of: Murder of crows

Murder of crows

Murder has been a collective noun for crows since the 15th century due to the superstitious association of crows with death because of course they feed on carrion. It is first cited in the Egerton medieval Manuscripts at the British Library c. 1475 as a mursher of crowys; mursher being an old form of murder but, apart from this, its origin and authorship are unknown.