groupdenoting
Groupdenoting is a term used in semantics to describe linguistic expressions whose primary reference is a group or collectivity rather than individual members. The label covers classic collective nouns such as committee, team, jury, and audience, as well as noun phrases that designate a unit formed by several individuals.
Semantically, groupdenoting expressions are typically treated as unitary referents that can act as wholes. They often
Groupdenoting nouns interact with determiners and quantifiers in distinctive ways. They can take definite determiners (the
Examples: The committee has issued a report. The committees have issued separate reports. The jury is deliberating.
See also: collective noun, collective reading, distributivity, mass noun.