brood vs herd

brood

verb
  • To be bred. 

  • (typically with about or over) To dwell upon moodily and at length, mainly alone. 

  • To keep an egg warm to make it hatch. 

  • To protect (something that is gradually maturing); to foster. 

adj
  • Kept or reared for breeding. 

noun
  • Heavy waste in tin and copper ores. 

  • Parentage. 

  • The children in one family; offspring. 

  • The young of any egg-laying creature, especially if produced at the same time. 

  • The eggs and larvae of social insects such as bees, ants and some wasps, especially when gathered together in special brood chambers or combs within the colony. 

  • The young of certain animals, especially a group of young birds or fowl hatched at one time by the same mother. 

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

herd

verb
  • To form or put into a herd. 

  • To manage, care for or guard a herd 

  • To act as a herdsman or a shepherd. 

  • To unite or associate in a herd 

  • To move or drive a herd. 

  • To associate; to ally oneself with, or place oneself among, a group or company. 

  • To unite or associate in a herd; to feed or run together, or in company. 

noun
  • A number of domestic animals assembled together under the watch or ownership of a keeper. 

  • Any collection of animals gathered or travelling in a company. 

  • A crowd, a mass of people or things; a rabble. 

How often have the words brood and herd occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )