A Bank Branch and a Tree Branch Are the Same Metaphor
A branch grows out from a trunk. Every other sense of the word is that image applied to something else.
A branch is a limb growing from a tree's trunk. Every other use is the same picture reapplied: a bank branch grows out from head office, a branch of mathematics grows from the main subject, a branch line leaves the main railway, and a family branch descends from a common ancestor. The tree is doing an extraordinary amount of work.
- A limb of a tree. *A low branch.*
- A local office. *The Leeds branch.*
- A division of a subject. *A branch of physics.*
- To divide. *The road branches left.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | branch | A bare branch. |
| Plural | branches | Overhanging branches. |
| Verb | branch | Branch out. |
| Adjective | branching | A branching path. |
| Related | bough | A heavy bough. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The nearest branch is in town.Bank or shop.
- She decided to branch out.Try something new.
- The legislative branch.One of three arms of government.
Branch in different fields
- Government — legislative, executive and judicial branches
- Computing — a point where code takes one of two paths
- Version control — a parallel line of development
- Railways — a branch line leaving the main route
- Genealogy — a line of descent from a common ancestor
From Old French *branche*, from Late Latin *branca*, a paw or claw. The image was of a limb reaching out.
Branch or bough?
A bough is a large main branch. Bough is now mostly poetic; branch covers everything.
What is a branch in software?
A separate line of development in a version control system, allowing work to proceed without disturbing the main code.