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Added 9 October 2026

branch

/bɹɑːnt͡ʃ/ noun

In Latin: rāmus, sūrus, termes Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about branch at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A division of some larger or more complex organization.
a branch of Congress
A division of a stem, or secondary stem arising from the main stem of a plant.
A part of a forked or branching shape.
he broke off one of the branches

verb

Grow and send out branches or branch-like structures.
these plants ramify early and get to be very large
Divide into two or more branches so as to form a fork.
The road forks

Origin

From Middle English branche, braunche, bronche, from Old French branche, branke, from Late Latin branca (“footprint”, later also “paw, claw”) (whence Middle High German pranke, German Pranke (“paw”)), of unknown origin. Perhaps of Celtic origin, from a hypothetical Gaulish *vranca, from Proto-Indo-European *wrónk-eh₂. If so, then Indo-European cognates include Old Norse rá, vró (“angle, corner”), and possibly Lithuanian rankà (“hand”), Old Church Slavonic рѫка (rǫka, “hand”), Albanian rangë (“yardwork”). The verb is from Middle English braunchen, from the noun.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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