English
branch
Branch comes from Middle English branche, from Old French branche, from Late Latin branca ‘footprint, later paw, claw’, of unknown origin.
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEbranca1‘footprint; later paw, claw’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400branche1‘branch’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500branche1
- Englishearliest quotation 1556branch1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English branch
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1556, John Heywood, London: […] Tho[mas] Powell: “Selfe loue, to him ſelf tender, to the reſt…”.
Lineage
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEbrancaWiktionary, English branch‘footprint; later paw, claw’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400brancheWiktionary, English branch‘branch’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500brancheWiktionary, English branch
- Englishearliest quotation 1556branchWiktionary, English branch. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1556, John Heywood, London: […] Tho[mas] Powell: “Selfe loue, to him ſelf tender, to the reſt…”
The story
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’).
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Today it means
noun The woody part of a tree arising from the trunk and usually dividing.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “branch”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Late Latin branca / branch