BRANCH (from the Fr. branche,

See also:

• LATE

late

See also:

• LAT

Lat. branca, an

See also:

• ANIMAL
• ANIMAL (Lat. animalis, from anima, breath, soul)

animal's paw)  , a limb of a tree; hence any offshoot, e.g. of a river, railway, &c., of a deer's antlers, of a family or genealogical tree, and generally a subdivision or department, as in " a branch of learning." The phrase, to destroy " root and branch," meaning to destroy utterly, taken originally from Malachi iv . 1, was made famous in 1641 by the so-called " Root and Branch " Bill and Petition for the abolition of episcopal government, in which petition occurred the sentence, " That the said government, with all its dependencies, roots and branches, be destroyed." Among technical senses of the word "branch" are: the certificate of proficiency given to pilots by Trinity House; and in siege-craft a length of trench forming part of a zigzag approach .