Link Centre Dictionary

branch

UK/ˈbɹænt͡ʃ/ US/bɹænt͡ʃ/ common
noun (6) verb (2)

noun

1.

an administrative division of some larger or more complex organization

  • “a branch of Congress”
Synonyms
2.

a division of a stem, or secondary stem arising from the main stem of a plant

3.

a part of a forked or branching shape

  • “he broke off one of the branches”
  • “they took the south fork”
Synonyms
4.
5.

a stream or river connected to a larger one

6.

any projection that is thought to resemble an arm

  • “the arm of the record player”
  • “an arm of the sea”
  • “a branch of the sewer”
Synonyms

verb

1.

grow and send out branches or branch-like structures

  • “these plants ramify early and get to be very large”
Synonyms
2.

divide into two or more branches so as to form a fork

  • “The road forks”
Synonyms

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.

Phrases

  • bourbon and branch
  • branch banking
  • Branch County
  • branch current method
  • branch manager
  • branch off
  • branch office
  • branch out
  • branch pilot
  • branch predictor
  • The Branch

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

Parts

Part of

Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.