Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Branch
open-in-new
<h2 id="history-and-etymology">History and etymology</h2> <p>In <a href="/facts/Old_English/9rsmQG2a">Old English</a>, there are numerous words for branch, including <i>seten</i>, <i>stofn</i>, <i>telgor</i>, and <i>hrīs</i>. There are also numerous descriptive words, such as <i>blēd</i> (that is, something that has bled, or 'bloomed', out), <i>bōgincel</i> (literally 'little bough'), <i>ōwæstm</i> (literally 'on growth'), and <i>tūdornes</i> (literally 'offspringing'). Numerous other words for twigs and boughs abound, including <i>tān</i>, which still survives as the <i>-toe</i> in <i>mistletoe</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p><p><a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a> words for branch are <i>ramus</i> or <i>cladus</i>. The latter term is an affix found in other modern words such as <i><a href="/facts/Cladodont/Y0NEkQSK">cladodont</a></i> (prehistoric sharks with branched teeth), <i><a href="/facts/Cladode/QlQWSzV4">cladode</a></i> (flattened leaf-like branches), or <i><a href="/facts/Cladogram/fWFYhUFo">cladogram</a></i> (a branched diagram showing relations among organisms). </p> <h2 id="woody-branches">Woody branches</h2> <p>Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> The term <i><a href="/facts/Twig/maEtCnd8">twig</a></i> usually refers to a terminus, while <i>bough</i> refers only to branches coming directly from the <a href="/facts/Trunk_(botany)/13Nq8CEC">trunk</a>. </p><p>Due to a broad range of species of trees, branches and twigs can be found in many different shapes and sizes. While branches can be nearly <a href="/facts/Vertical_and_horizontal/Hhsu9C8x">horizontal</a>, vertical, or <a href="/facts/Diagonal/39z9sIRb">diagonal</a>, the majority of trees have upwardly diagonal branches. A number of mathematical properties are associated with tree branchings; they are natural examples of <a href="/facts/Fractal/sXj38JeN">fractal</a> patterns in nature, and, as observed by <a href="/facts/Leonardo_da_Vinci/E83tcPl2">Leonardo da Vinci</a>, their <a href="/facts/Cross_section_(geometry)/g5R1c6v2">cross-sectional areas</a> closely follow the <a href="/facts/Da_Vinci_branching_rule/handzeJh">da Vinci branching rule</a>. </p> <h3>Specific terms</h3> <p>A bough can also be called a limb or arm, and though these are arguably <a href="/facts/Metaphor/xwsLaqJI">metaphors</a>, both are widely accepted <a href="/facts/Synonym/a3BgMcdu">synonyms</a> for bough.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> A crotch or <a href="/facts/Tree_forks/zLDgNMB3">fork</a> is an area where a trunk splits into two or more boughs. A <a href="/facts/Twig/maEtCnd8">twig</a> is frequently referred to as a sprig as well, especially when it has been plucked.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> Other words for twig include branchlet, spray, and surcle, as well as the technical terms surculus and ramulus. Branches found under larger branches can be called underbranches. </p><p>Some branches from specific trees have their own names, such as osiers and withes or <a href="/facts/Withy/2dgcYjTX">withies</a>, which come from <a href="/facts/Willow/F66Xvslm">willows</a>. Often trees have certain words which, in English, are naturally <a href="/facts/Collocation/1hIc9lsI">collocated</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Holly/mVjFNnlk">holly</a> and <a href="/facts/Mistletoe/TEDNExY3">mistletoe</a>, which usually employ the phrase "sprig of" (as in, a "sprig of mistletoe"). Similarly, the branch of a <a href="/facts/Cherry/uVbsknBg">cherry tree</a> is generally referred to as a "cherry branch", while other such formations (i.e., "<a href="/facts/Acacia/Lw9T7Hy6">acacia</a> branch" or "<a href="/facts/Orange_(fruit)/qQdDNeL4">orange</a> branch") carry no such alliance. A good example of this versatility is <a href="/facts/Oak/1NJJzkzB">oak</a>, which could be referred to as variously an "oak branch", an "oaken branch", a "branch of oak", or the "branch of an oak tree". </p><p>Once a branch has been cut or in any other way removed from its source, it is most commonly referred to as a stick, and a stick employed for some purpose (such as <a href="/facts/Walking/Mow1X5Im">walking</a>, <a href="/facts/Spanking/FSmBYaEr">spanking</a>, or <a href="/facts/Beating_up/4JFNLpeG">beating</a>) is often called a rod. Thin, flexible sticks are called <a href="/facts/Switch_(rod)/jbASVl00">switches</a>, <a href="/facts/Wand/a7Km9Rkt">wands</a>, shrags, or vimina (singular vimen). </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> Look up <i>branch</i> in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. <ul><li><a href="/facts/Basal_shoot/4F4ekjaQ">Basal shoot</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Root/Hk7ucczM">Root</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Shoot_(botany)/ML2z0pru">Shoot</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Stolon/dNDj2H9p">Stolon</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Turion_(botany)/QgqcJRC9">Turion (botany)</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Pell, Susan K.; Angell, Bobbi (2016-05-25). A Botanist's Vocabulary: 1300 Terms Explained and Illustrated. Timber Press. ISBN 978-1-60469-563-2. <a href="978-1-60469-563-2" target="_blank">978-1-60469-563-2</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"mistletoe". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. 2000. Archived from the original on May 2, 2007 – via Bartleby.com. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070502092508/http://www.bartleby.com/61/64/M0346400.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20070502092508/http://www.bartleby.com/61/64/M0346400.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Driscoll, Michael; Meredith Hamiltion; Marie Coons (May 2003). A Child's Introduction Poetry. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. p. 10. ISBN 1-57912-282-5. <a href="1-57912-282-5" target="_blank">1-57912-282-5</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>""limb" on Merriam-Webster". <a href="http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=limb" target="_blank">http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=limb</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>""arm" on Merriam-Webster". <a href="http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=arm" target="_blank">http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=arm</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"sprig" on Encarta.[permanent dead link] <a href="https://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861712698" target="_blank">https://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861712698</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>