Advertisement

brood (n.)

Old English brod "offspring of egg-laying animals, hatchlings, young birds hatched in one nest," from Proto-Germanic *brod (source also of Middle Dutch broet, Old High German bruot, German Brut "brood"), etymologically "that which is hatched by heat," from *bro- "to warm, heat," from PIE *bhre- "burn, heat, incubate," from root *bhreu- "to boil, bubble, effervesce, burn." Meaning "human offspring, children of one family" is from c. 1300.

brood (v.)

mid-15c., "sit on eggs for the purpose of hatching them," from brood (n.). The figurative meaning "meditate long and anxiously" (to "incubate in the mind") is first recorded 1570s, from notion of "nursing" one's anger, resentment, etc. Related: Brooded; brooding. Brood mare "female horse kept for breeding" is from 1829.

Others are reading

Advertisement
Definitions of brood from WordNet
1
brood (v.)
think moodily or anxiously about something;
Synonyms: dwell
brood (v.)
hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing;
The terrible vision brooded over her all day long
Synonyms: hover / loom / bulk large
brood (v.)
be in a huff and display one's displeasure;
Synonyms: sulk / pout
brood (v.)
be in a huff; be silent or sullen;
Synonyms: grizzle / stew
brood (v.)
sit on (eggs);
Birds brood
Synonyms: hatch / cover / incubate
2
brood (n.)
the young of an animal cared for at one time;
From wordnet.princeton.edu