coterie
/ˈkəʊt(ə)ri
/noun (plural coteries)
A small group of people with shared interests or tastes, especially one that is exclusive of other people: a coterie of friends and advisers...
- Once again they are superb at building a picture of the times, especially the foment of ideas and information that found fertile ground in the coteries and cliques of Restoration coffee-shop culture.
- The contestants primp and preen, surrounded by clucking coteries of friends and parents.
- These are questions that are no longer restricted to a small coterie of people who are ‘interested in politics’.
Synonyms
clique, set, circle, inner circle, crowd, in-crowd, gang, band, pack, crew, clan, club, fellowship, brotherhood, fraternity, sorority, sect, camp, community, league, alliance, faction, cabal, junta, caucus, syndicate, nucleus, cell;
Australian/New Zealand push
Origin
Early 18th century: from French, earlier denoting an association of tenants, based on Middle Low German kote 'cote'.