Category:Branch

Branch, n.; pl. Branches (. Etym: [OE. braunche, F. branche, fr. LL. branca claw of a bird or beast of prey; cf. Armor. brank branch, bough.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: 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. Shak.

4. (Geom.)

Defn: 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.)

Defn: 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 Branch, a.

Defn: 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 Branch, v. 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 Branch, v. 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.

-- ---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Branch - A symbol of kings descended from royal ancestors (Ezekiel 17:3, Ezekiel 17:10; Daniel 11:7); of prosperity (Job 8:16); of the Messiah, a branch out of the root of the stem of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1), the "beautiful branch" (Isaiah 4:2), a "righteous branch" (Jeremiah 23:5), "the Branch" (Zechariah 3:8; Zechariah 6:12). Disciples are branches of the true vine (John 15:5, John 15:6). "The branch of the terrible ones" (Isaiah 25:5) is rightly translated in the Revised Version "the song of the terrible ones," i.e., the song of victory shall be brought low by the destruction of Babylon and the return of the Jews from captivity. The "abominable branch" is a tree on which a malefactor has been hanged (Isaiah 14:19). The "highest branch" in Ezekiel 17:3 represents Jehoiakim the king.