Meanings
branch1
nounbranch (plural branches)
plural branches · alternative obsolete braunch
- The woody part of a tree arising from the trunk and usually dividing.
Selfe loue, to him ſelf tender, to the reſt tough, / Is, of iuſt iuſtice, neither roote, braunce, nor bough. / Loue (namely ſelfe loue) corruptibly growyng, / Is cheefe lodeſter of lets, in iuſtice ſhowing.
1556, John Heywood, chapter 7, in The Spider and the Flie. […], London: […] Tho[mas] Powell, →OCLC; republished as A[dolphus] W[illiam] Ward, editor, The Spider and the Flie. […] (Publications of the Spenser Society, New Series; 6), Manchester: […] [Charles E. Simms] for the Spenser Society, 1894, →OCLC, page 501 more example
And they played softly in the Aeolian mode a music that was like the wailing of wind through bare branches on a moonless night, and the Red Foliot leaned forth from his high seat and recited this lamentation: […]
1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 31Synonyms: arm, bough, grain, limb, tiller, tillow, twig, tree
- Any of the parts of something that divides like the branch of a tree.
the branch of an antler, a chandelier, or a railway
- geometryOne of the portions of a curve that extends outwards to an indefinitely great distance.
the branches of a hyperbola
- A location of an organization with several locations.
Our main branch is downtown, and we have branches in all major suburbs.
- 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
2 more examples
his father, a younger branch of the ancient stock
1609, Richard Carew, The Survey of Cornwall, London: […] S[imon] S[tafford] for Iohn Iaggard, […], →OCLCThe gens could admit a new cognomen either for an individual or for a whole branch […]
1945, E[lizabeth] G[idley] Withycombe, “Introduction”, in The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page xv - MormonismA local congregation of the LDS Church that is not large enough to form a ward; see Wikipedia article on ward in LDS church.
- An area in business or of knowledge, research.
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.
2012 January 28, Robert L. Dorit, “Rereading Darwin”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 14 Nov 2012, page 23 - nauticalA certificate given by Trinity House to a pilot qualified to take navigational control of a ship in British waters.
- computingA group of related files in a source control system, including for example source code, build scripts, and media such as images.
- rail transportA branch line.
verbbranch (third-person singular simple present branches, present participle branching, simple past and past participle branched)
present singular third person branches · participle present branching · participle past branched · past branched · alternative obsolete braunch
- intransitiveTo arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree.
- intransitiveTo produce branches.
The tree throve and branched so heavily that the windows of Lower West and the Doll's Flat were darkened.
1944, Emily Carr, “Life Loves Living”, in The House of All Sorts - ambitransitiveTo (cause to) divide into separate parts or subdivisions.
- transitiveTo strip of branches.
They cut down a young pear-tree, branch it, and carry it home.
1890, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 2, page 55 - colloquialtransitiveTo discipline (a union member) at a branch meeting.
His staff were 'not journalists, but Communists', he maintained. Nonetheless, in 1948 his vigorous editorship took the paper's circulation to 120,000 a day. The following year, he was 'branched' by the National Union of Journalists for an intemperate attack on Fleet Street.
2003, Paul Routledge, The Bumper Book of British Lefties, page 199
Branch2
proper noun
- A surname from Old French.
- A tiny city in Franklin County, Arkansas.
- An unincorporated community in Sweetwater Township, Lake County, Michigan.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe woody part of a tree arising from the trunk and usually dividing.
Opposite
Narrower
anabranchasymptotic giant branchbranch of governmentbundle branchcadet branchDry Branchearthly branchEverett branchexecutive branchFarmers Branchhemibranchhorizontal branchjudicial branchlanguage branchlegislative branchLong Branchmain branchmicrobranchmonkey-branchmultibranchnanobranchNorth Brancholive brancholive-branchpinebranchpleurobranchpluribranchprincipal branchSouth BranchSpecial Branchsub-branchsubbranchterrestrial branchtree-and-branchtree-branchunderbranchWest Branch
Similar
More synonyms by meaning
nouna natural consequence of development
Broader
verbdivide into two or more branches so as to form a fork
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
branch · noun, verb
- Middle Englishbraunchen
- Proto-Indo-European*wrónk-eh₂
- Gaulish*vranca
- Late Latinbranca“footprint”, later also “paw, claw”
- Old Frenchbranche
- Middle Englishbranche
- Englishbranch
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.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Late Latin
Full word history & related roots →Branch · proper noun
- FrenchBranch“a surname”
- EnglishBranch
Surname derived from the noun branch. In addition to being a native English surname, the noun has also been calqued from the word for "branch" in other languages, such as German Zweig, Swedish gren, etc. The name of the town in Newfoundland is likely derived from French Branch (“a surname”) or Branche.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans tak
- takwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
Ancient Greek κλάδος, ὄζος
- κλάδος (kládos)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- ὄζος (ózos)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- ἀκρεμών (akremṓn)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
Arabic فَرْع, غُصْن
- فَرْع (farʕ)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- غُصْن (ḡuṣn)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- شُعْبَة (šuʕba)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- فرع (farʕ)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- غصن (ḡuṣn)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
Basque adar
- adarwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
Bengali শাখা, ডাল
- শাখা (śakha)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- ডাল (ḍal)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
Bulgarian клон, ве́йка
- клон (klon)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- ве́йка (véjka)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- кло́нче (klónče)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- разклоне́ние (razklonénie)part that divides like the branch of a tree
- клон (klon)location of an organization with several locations
- филиа́л (filiál)location of an organization with several locations
- о́бласт (óblast)area in business or of knowledge, research
- разклонявам се (razklonjavam se)to arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
- пускам клони (puskam kloni)to produce branches
- разклонявам се (razklonjavam se)to jump to a different location in a program, especially as the result of a conditional statement
Catalan branca, branc
- brancawoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- brancpart that divides like the branch of a tree
- sucursallocation of an organization with several locations
Chinese җызы, җыр
- җызы (žɨzɨ)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- җыр (žɨr)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- фуҗызы (fužɨzɨ)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- фуҗыҗызы (fužɨžɨzɨ)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- фуҗыҗыр (fužɨžɨr)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
Chinese Mandarin 支, 樹枝 /树枝
- 支 (zhī)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- 樹枝 /树枝 (shùzhī)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- 分支 (fēn zhī)part that divides like the branch of a tree
- 支店 (zhīdiàn)location of an organization with several locations
- 部門 /部门 (bùmén)location of an organization with several locations
- 分公司 (fēngōngsī)location of an organization with several locations
- 分局 (fēnjú)location of an organization with several locations
Czech větev, pobočka
- větevwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- pobočkalocation of an organization with several locations
- oborarea in business or of knowledge, research
- větvit seto arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
Danish gren, filial
- grenwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- filiallocation of an organization with several locations
- områdearea in business or of knowledge, research
- grenarea in business or of knowledge, research
- branchearea in business or of knowledge, research
- opdeleto divide into separate parts or subdivisions
Dutch tak, tak
- takwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- takpart that divides like the branch of a tree
- vertakkingpart that divides like the branch of a tree
- armpart that divides like the branch of a tree
- filiaallocation of an organization with several locations
- vestiginglocation of an organization with several locations
- takline of family descent
- brancharea in business or of knowledge, research
- bedrijfstakarea in business or of knowledge, research
- vakgebiedarea in business or of knowledge, research
- branchearea in business or of knowledge, research
- aftakkento arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
Esperanto branĉo, filio
- branĉowoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- filiolocation of an organization with several locations
Estonian oks, haru
- okswoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- harupart that divides like the branch of a tree
- filiaallocation of an organization with several locations
Finnish oksa, varpu
- oksawoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- varpuwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- vitsawoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- haarapart that divides like the branch of a tree
- hankapart that divides like the branch of a tree
- oksanhaarapart that divides like the branch of a tree
- puunhaarapart that divides like the branch of a tree
- sivujokicreek or stream which flows into a larger river
- haarageometry: one of the portions of a curve that extends to infinity
- toimipaikkalocation of an organization with several locations
- sivukonttorilocation of an organization with several locations
- haarakonttorilocation of an organization with several locations
- haarautuato arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
- haarautuato produce branches
- haaraantuato produce branches
- jakaato divide into separate parts or subdivisions
- osittaato divide into separate parts or subdivisions
- haarautuato jump to a different location in a program, especially as the result of a conditional statement
- haaraantuato jump to a different location in a program, especially as the result of a conditional statement
French branche, rameau
- branchewoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- rameauwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- branchepart that divides like the branch of a tree
- affluentcreek or stream which flows into a larger river
- filialelocation of an organization with several locations
- succursalelocation of an organization with several locations
- brancheline of family descent
- branchearea in business or of knowledge, research
- branchement conditionnelcomputer architecture: conditional sequence of code
- brancherto jump to a different location in a program, especially as the result of a conditional statement
German Ast, Zweig
- Astwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- Zweigwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- Abzweigungpart that divides like the branch of a tree
- Ästelungpart that divides like the branch of a tree
- Zweigungpart that divides like the branch of a tree
- Zweigstellelocation of an organization with several locations
- Filialelocation of an organization with several locations
- Branchearea in business or of knowledge, research
- Zweigarea in business or of knowledge, research
- Gebietarea in business or of knowledge, research
- Wirtschaftszweigarea in business or of knowledge, research
- abzweigento arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
- verzweigento produce branches
- springento jump to a different location in a program, especially as the result of a conditional statement
Greek κλαδί, κλαρί
- κλαδί (kladí)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- κλαρί (klarí)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- διακλάδωση (diakládosi)part that divides like the branch of a tree
- κλάδος (kládos)part that divides like the branch of a tree
- παρακλάδι (parakládi)part that divides like the branch of a tree
- υποκατάστημα (ypokatástima)location of an organization with several locations
- κλάδος (kládos)area in business or of knowledge, research
Hebrew עָנָף, בַּד
- עָנָף (anaf)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- בַּד (bad)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- עָנָף (anaf)part that divides like the branch of a tree
- סְנִיף (snif)location of an organization with several locations
Hindi डाल, शाखा
- डाल (ḍāl)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- शाखा (śākhā)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- शाखा (śākhā)part that divides like the branch of a tree
- शाखा (śākhā)creek or stream which flows into a larger river
- उपनदी (upandī)creek or stream which flows into a larger river
- सहायक नदी (sahāyak nadī)creek or stream which flows into a larger river
- शाखा (śākhā)location of an organization with several locations
- वंशावली (vañśāvlī)line of family descent
Hungarian ág, leágazás
- ágwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- leágazáspart that divides like the branch of a tree
- fióklocation of an organization with several locations
- üzletágarea in business or of knowledge, research
- szakarea in business or of knowledge, research
- csoportarea in business or of knowledge, research
- hajtto arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
- sarjadto arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
- sarjadzikto arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
- alapítto produce branches
- létrehozto produce branches
Icelandic grein, útibú
- greinwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- útibúlocation of an organization with several locations
Indonesian dahan, batang
- dahanwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- batangwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
Iranian Persian شاخِه, شاخ
- شاخِه (šâxe)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- شاخ (šâx)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- شُعْبِه (šo'be)location of an organization with several locations
Irish craobh, géag
- craobhwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- géagwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- craobhlocation of an organization with several locations
- géagaighto arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
- géagaighto produce branches
Italian ramo, stanghetta
- ramowoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- stanghettapart that divides like the branch of a tree
- filialelocation of an organization with several locations
- succursalelocation of an organization with several locations
- ramoline of family descent
- brancaarea in business or of knowledge, research
- ramoarea in business or of knowledge, research
- settorearea in business or of knowledge, research
- salto condizionalecomputer architecture: conditional sequence of code
Japanese 枝, 部門
- 枝 (eda)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- 部門 (bumon)location of an organization with several locations
- 支店 (shiten)location of an organization with several locations
- 支社 (shisha)location of an organization with several locations
- 支局 (shikyoku)location of an organization with several locations
- 分局 (bunkyoku)location of an organization with several locations
- 分岐する (bunki suru)to jump to a different location in a program, especially as the result of a conditional statement
Korean 나뭇가지, 가지
- 나뭇가지 (namutgaji)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- 가지 (gaji)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- 줄기 (julgi)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- 지점 (jijeom)location of an organization with several locations
- 지사 (jisa)location of an organization with several locations
- 지국 (jiguk)location of an organization with several locations
- 분국 (bun'guk)location of an organization with several locations
Latin rāmus, sūrus
- rāmuswoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- sūruswoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- termeswoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
Latvian zars, filiāle
- zarswoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- filiālelocation of an organization with several locations
Lithuanian šaka, filialas
- šakawoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- filialaslocation of an organization with several locations
- šakaarea in business or of knowledge, research
Malay dahan, cawangan
- dahanwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- cawanganlocation of an organization with several locations
Māori pekanga, oka
- pekangapart that divides like the branch of a tree
- okaline of family descent
- torongaline of family descent
Norwegian Bokmål gren, grein
- grenwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- greinwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- filiallocation of an organization with several locations
Polish gałąź, rozgałęzienie
- gałąźwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- rozgałęzieniepart that divides like the branch of a tree
- oddziałlocation of an organization with several locations
- filialocation of an organization with several locations
- agendalocation of an organization with several locations
- gałąźarea in business or of knowledge, research
- działarea in business or of knowledge, research
- rozgałęziać sięto arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
- rozgałęziać sięto produce branches
- rozgałęziać sięto jump to a different location in a program, especially as the result of a conditional statement
Portuguese galho, ramo
- galhowoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- ramowoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- ramopart that divides like the branch of a tree
- brotopart that divides like the branch of a tree
- ramalpart that divides like the branch of a tree
- filiallocation of an organization with several locations
- departamentolocation of an organization with several locations
- divisãolocation of an organization with several locations
- repartiçãolocation of an organization with several locations
- divisãoarea in business or of knowledge, research
- ramoarea in business or of knowledge, research
- dividirto arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
- partirto arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
- separarto arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
- brotarto arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
- brotarto produce branches
- ramificarto produce branches
Romanian ram, ramură
- ramwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- ramurăwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- creangăwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- cracăwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- ramificarepart that divides like the branch of a tree
- filialălocation of an organization with several locations
- sucursalălocation of an organization with several locations
- ramurăarea in business or of knowledge, research
- branșăarea in business or of knowledge, research
- ramificato arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
- se ramificato produce branches
- ramificato divide into separate parts or subdivisions
- ramificato jump to a different location in a program, especially as the result of a conditional statement
- sărito jump to a different location in a program, especially as the result of a conditional statement
Russian ветвь, ве́тка
- ветвь (vetvʹ)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- ве́тка (vétka)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- ве́точка (vétočka)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- ответвле́ние (otvetvlénije)part that divides like the branch of a tree
- ве́тка (vétka)part that divides like the branch of a tree
- прито́к (pritók)creek or stream which flows into a larger river
- руче́й (ručéj)creek or stream which flows into a larger river
- отделе́ние (otdelénije)location of an organization with several locations
- филиа́л (filiál)location of an organization with several locations
- прихо́д (prixód)Mormonism: small congregation
- о́трасль (ótraslʹ)area in business or of knowledge, research
- о́бласть (óblastʹ)area in business or of knowledge, research
Scottish Gaelic meur, geug
- meurwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- geugwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- meurpart that divides like the branch of a tree
- meurlocation of an organization with several locations
- meurarea in business or of knowledge, research
Slovak vetva, konár
- vetvawoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- konárwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- vetvapart that divides like the branch of a tree
- prítokcreek or stream which flows into a larger river
- pobočkalocation of an organization with several locations
- vetvaline of family descent
- odborarea in business or of knowledge, research
- vetvacomputer architecture: conditional sequence of code
- vyrásťto arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
- vyrastaťto arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
- vetviť sato produce branches
- rozvetviť sato produce branches
- vetviť sato divide into separate parts or subdivisions
- deliť sato divide into separate parts or subdivisions
Spanish rama, ramal
- ramawoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- ramalpart that divides like the branch of a tree
- sucursallocation of an organization with several locations
- delegaciónlocation of an organization with several locations
- filiallocation of an organization with several locations
- ramaarea in business or of knowledge, research
- ramificarto arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree
- ramificarto produce branches
- ramificarto divide into separate parts or subdivisions
Swahili tanzu, tanzu
- tanzuwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- tanzupart that divides like the branch of a tree
- mlangoline of family descent
Swedish gren, filial
- grenwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- filiallocation of an organization with several locations
- branschkontorlocation of an organization with several locations
- grenarea in business or of knowledge, research
- områdearea in business or of knowledge, research
Tagalog sanga, sangay
- sangawoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- sangaypart that divides like the branch of a tree
- sangayarea in business or of knowledge, research
- magbungato produce branches
Tamil கிளை
- கிளை (kiḷai)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
Thai กิ่ง, แขนง
- กิ่ง (gìng)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- แขนง (kà-nɛ̌ɛng)area in business or of knowledge, research
Turkish dal, budak
- dalwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- budakwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- dalpart that divides like the branch of a tree
- şubelocation of an organization with several locations
- dalarea in business or of knowledge, research
Ukrainian ві́тка, галу́зь
- ві́тка (vítka)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- галу́зь (halúzʹ)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- галу́зка (halúzka)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- гі́лка (hílka)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- гі́лочка (híločka)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- фі́лія (fílija)location of an organization with several locations
- філіа́л (filiál)location of an organization with several locations
- відді́лення (viddílennja)location of an organization with several locations
- га́лузь (háluzʹ)area in business or of knowledge, research
Urdu شاخ, ڈال
- شاخ (śāx)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- ڈال (ḍāl)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- شاخَہ (śāxa)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- بِرَنْچ (biranc)location of an organization with several locations
- بِرانْچ (birānc)location of an organization with several locations
Vietnamese cành, nhánh
- cànhwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- nhánhwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- nhánhlocation of an organization with several locations
- nhánharea in business or of knowledge, research
Welsh cangen
- cangenwoody part of a tree arising from the trunk
Yiddish צווײַג, פֿיליאַל
- צווײַג (tsvayg)woody part of a tree arising from the trunk
- פֿיליאַל (filyal)location of an organization with several locations
- בראַנזשע (branzhe)area in business or of knowledge, research
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with branch
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Cite this entry
APA
branch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/branch
MLA
“branch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/branch. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “branch,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/branch.
Source: branch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.