Bēv'y, n.

n. [Perhaps orig. a drinking company, from It. beva, a drink, beverage, afterward a company in general, esp. of ladies, and last applied by sportsmen to larks, quails, and other birds. But it seems much better to derive the word from Arm. beva, life, to live, to be alive, bev, living. W. bywyd, life, byw, to live, alive, so that the original meaning is life, a life, living, lively beings.]

1. A flock of birds, especially quails.
2. A company; an assembly or collection of persons, especially ladies.

What a bevy of beaten slaves have we here! Beau. & Fl.