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Webster 1913 Edition

Branch

Branch

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Branches
.
[OE.
braunche
, F.
branche
, fr. LL.
branca
claw of a bird or beast of prey; cf. Armor.
brank
branch, bough.]
1.
(Bot.)
A shoot or secondary stem growing from the main stem, or from a principal limb or bough of a tree or other plant.
2.
Any division extending like a branch; any arm or part connected with the main body of thing; ramification;
as, the
branch
of an antler; the
branch
of a chandelier; a
branch
of a river; a
branch
of a railway
.
Most of the
branches
, or streams, were dried up.
W. Irving.
3.
Any member or part of a body or system; a distinct article; a section or subdivision; a department.
“Branches of knowledge.”
Prescott.
It is a
branch
and parcel of mine oath.
Shakespeare
4.
(Geom.)
One of the portions of a curve that extends outwards to an indefinitely great distance;
as, the
branches
of an hyperbola
.
5.
A line of family descent, in distinction from some other line or lines from the same stock; any descendant in such a line;
as, the English
branch
of a family
.
His father, a younger
branch
of the ancient stock.
Carew.
6.
(Naut.)
A warrant or commission given to a pilot, authorizing him to pilot vessels in certain waters.
Branches of a bridle
,
two pieces of bent iron, which bear the bit, the cross chains, and the curb.
–
Branch herring
.
See
Alewife
.
–
Root and branch
,
totally, wholly.
Syn. – Bough; limb; shoot; offshoot; twig; sprig.

Branch

,
Adj.
Diverging from, or tributary to, a main stock, line, way, theme, etc.;
as, a
branch
vein; a
branch
road or line; a
branch
topic; a
branch
store
.

Branch

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Branched
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Branching
.]
1.
To shoot or spread in branches; to separate into branches; to ramify.
2.
To divide into separate parts or subdivision.
To branch off
,
to form a branch or a separate part; to diverge.
–
To branch out
,
to speak diffusively; to extend one’s discourse to other topics than the main one; also, to enlarge the scope of one's business, etc.
To
branch out
into a long disputation.
Spectator.

Branch

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To divide as into branches; to make subordinate division in.
2.
To adorn with needlework representing branches, flowers, or twigs.
The train whereof loose far behind her strayed,
Branched
with gold and pearl, most richly wrought.
Spenser.

Webster 1828 Edition

Branch

BR'ANCH

, n.
1.
The shoot of a tree or other plant; a limb; a bough shooting from the stem, or from another branch or bough. Johnson restricts the word to a shoot from a main bough; but the definition warranted neither by etymology nor usage.
A division of a main stem, supporting the leaves and fructification.
An arm of a tree sprouting from the stem.
2. Any arm or extended part shooting or extended from the main body of a thing; as the branch of a candlestick or of an artery. Hence, from similitude, a smaller stream running into a large one,or proceeding from it. Also, the shoot of a stag's horn; an antler.
3.
Any member or part of a body, or system; a distinct article; a section or subdivision; as, charity is a branch of christian duty.
4.
Any individual of a family descending in a collateral line; any descendant from a common parent or stock.
5.
Branches of a bridle, two pieces of bent iron which bear the bit, the cross chains and the curb.
6.
In architecture, branches of ogives are the arches of Gothic vaults, traversing from one angle to another diagonally, and forming a cross between the other arches, which make the sides of the square, of which these arches are diagonals.
7.
A warrant or commission given to a pilot.
8.
A chandelier.

BR'ANCH

,
Verb.
I.
To shoot or spread in branches; to ramify, as a plant, or as horns.
1.
To divide into separate parts, or subdivisions, as a mountain, a stream, or a moral subject; to ramify.
2.
To speak diffusively; to make many distinctions or divisions in a discourse.
3.
To have horns shooting out.

BR'ANCH

,
Verb.
T.
To divide as into branches; to make subordinate divisions.
1.
To adorn with needle work, representing branches, flowers, or twigs.

Definition 2024

Branch

Branch

See also: branch

English

Proper noun

Branch

  1. A surname​.
  2. A town in Arkansas State.
  3. A town in Newfoundland and Labrador.

branch

branch

See also: Branch

English

Tree branches.

Alternative forms

  • braunch

Noun

branch ‎(plural branches)

  1. The woody part of a tree arising from the trunk and usually dividing.
  2. Any of the parts of something that divides like the branch of a tree.
    the branch of an antler, a chandelier, or a railway
  3. (in particular) A creek or stream which flows into a larger river. (In the US, branch is a Southern US term; compare Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia run, and New York and New England brook.)
  4. (geometry) One of the portions of a curve that extends outwards to an indefinitely great distance.
    the branches of a hyperbola
  5. A location of an organization with several locations.
    Our main branch is downtown, and we have branches in all major suburbs.
  6. A line of family descent, in distinction from some other line or lines from the same stock; any descendant in such a line.
    the English branch of a family
    • Carew
      his father, a younger branch of the ancient stock
  7. (Mormonism) A local congregation of the LDS Church that is not large enough to form a ward; see Wikipedia article on ward in LDS church.
  8. An area in business or of knowledge, research.
    • 2012 January 1, Robert L. Dorit, “Rereading Darwin”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 23:
      We live our lives in three dimensions for our threescore and ten allotted years. Yet every branch of contemporary science, from statistics to cosmology, alludes to processes that operate on scales outside of human experience: the millisecond and the nanometer, the eon and the light-year.
  9. (nautical) A certificate given by Trinity House to a pilot qualified to take navigational control of a ship in British waters.
  10. (computer architecture) A sequence of code that is conditionally executed.
  11. (rail transport) A branch line.

Related terms

Synonyms

Translations

Verb

branch ‎(third-person singular simple present branches, present participle branching, simple past and past participle branched)

  1. (intransitive) To arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree.
  2. (intransitive) To produce branches.
    • 1944, Emily Carr, The House of All Sorts, "Life Loves Living,"
      The tree throve and branched so heavily that the windows of Lower West and the Doll's Flat were darkened.
  3. (intransitive) To divide into separate parts or subdivisions.
  4. (intransitive, computing) To jump to a different location in a program, especially as the result of a conditional statement.

Translations

Related terms

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French branche ‎(“branch”).

Noun

branch

  1. branch

Etymology

From Middle English branche, braunche, bronche, from Old French branche, brance, from Vulgar Latin branca ‎(“footprint", later also "paw, claw”), of unknown origin, possibly from Gaulish *vranca. Indo-European cognates include Old Norse vró ‎(“angle, corner”), Lithuanian rankà ‎(“hand”), Old Church Slavonic рѫка ‎(rǫka, “hand”), Albanian rangë ‎(“yard work”).

Pronunciation

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