Origin of brood

before 1000; Middle English; Old English brōd; cognate with Dutch broed, German Brut. See breed

synonym study for brood

1. Brood, litter refer to young creatures. Brood is especially applied to the young of fowls and birds hatched from eggs at one time and raised under their mother's care: a brood of young turkeys. Litter is applied to a group of young animals brought forth at a birth: a litter of kittens or pups.

OTHER WORDS FROM brood

brood·less, adjective un·brood·ed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH brood

brewed brood

Example sentences from the Web for brood

British Dictionary definitions for brood

brood
/ (bruːd) /

noun

a number of young animals, esp birds, produced at one hatching
all the offspring in one family: often used jokingly or contemptuously
a group of a particular kind; breed
(as modifier) kept for breeding a brood mare

verb

(of a bird)
  1. to sit on or hatch (eggs)
  2. (tr) to cover (young birds) protectively with the wings
(when intr , often foll by on, over or upon) to ponder morbidly or persistently

Derived forms of brood

brooding, noun, adjective broodingly, adverb

Word Origin for brood

Old English brōd; related to Middle High German bruot, Dutch broed; see breed

Medical definitions for brood

brood
[ brōōd ]

n.

litter