Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Brood \Brood\ (br[=oo]d), n. [OE. brod, AS. br[=o]d; akin to D.
   broed, OHG. bruot, G. brut, and also to G. br["u]he broth,
   MHG. br["u]eje, and perh. to E. brawn, breath. Cf. {Breed},
   v. t.]
   1. The young birds hatched at one time; a hatch; as, a brood
      of chickens.

            As a hen doth gather her brood under her wings.
                                                  --Luke xiii.
                                                  34.

            A hen followed by a brood of ducks.   --Spectator.

   2. The young from the same dam, whether produced at the same
      time or not; young children of the same mother, especially
      if nearly of the same age; offspring; progeny; as, a woman
      with a brood of children.

            The lion roars and gluts his tawny brood.
                                                  --Wordsworth.

   3. That which is bred or produced; breed; species.

            Flocks of the airy brood, (Cranes, geese or
            long-necked swans).                   --Chapman.

   4. (Mining) Heavy waste in tin and copper ores.

   {To sit on brood}, to ponder. [Poetic] --Shak.