broody

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈbrudi/ UK /ˈbruːdi/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
moodily silent or melancholy; (of a hen) inclined to incubate eggs

He sat broody and withdrawn in the corner all evening.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · moodily silent or... moody sullen melancholy pensive gloomy brooding

Opposites

cheerful carefree jolly

Word family

Derived forms broodilybroodiness

Related forms brood brooding

Etymology

From brood (Old English brōd, 'offspring, hatching') + the adjectival suffix -y. The 'inclined to incubate eggs' sense (of a hen) is primary; the human 'moodily silent' sense is figurative.

brōd Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# broody

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈbrudi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbruːdi/

## Meanings
1. moodily silent or melancholy; (of a hen) inclined to incubate eggs

## Examples
- He sat broody and withdrawn in the corner all evening.

## Synonyms
- moody
- sullen
- melancholy
- pensive
- gloomy
- brooding

## Antonyms
- cheerful
- carefree
- jolly

## Derived Forms
- broodily
- broodiness

## Related Forms
- brood
- brooding

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: brōd

## Etymology
From brood (Old English brōd, 'offspring, hatching') + the adjectival suffix -y. The 'inclined to incubate eggs' sense (of a hen) is primary; the human 'moodily silent' sense is figurative.

## AI Etymology
Broody comes from brood (Old English brōd, 'offspring, hatching') + the adjectival suffix -y. The 'inclined to incubate eggs' sense (of a hen) is primary; the human 'moodily silent' sense is figurative. The historical trail runs through brōd in Old English. Morphologically, broody is transparent: it draws on brood (Old English brōd, 'offspring, hatching') + the adjectival suffix -y. Used as an adjective, broody now means "moodily silent or melancholy; (of a hen) inclined to incubate eggs", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as broodily and broodiness and related forms such as brood and brooding. The modern word remains analyzable through its parts, which makes the semantic connection unusually direct.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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