Branch

Branch is a term that denotes an offshoot or subdivision extending from a main body, used across natural, organizational, and technical domains. The common sense is a limb or shoot that grows from a trunk or stem; more broadly it can refer to a division, arm, or subsidiary unit that connects to a larger system.

In botany, a branch is a part of a plant that arises from the main stem and supports leaves, flowers, or fruits. Branching patterns influence a plant’s form, light capture, and reproduction. In forestry and horticulture, pruning and training dictate branching to shape growth and health.

In geography and infrastructure, a branch can refer to a branch of a river or a tributary; in transportation and commerce, a branch is a local office or facility of a bank, post office, or company, representing geographic expansion or service reach.

In computing, a branch can mean a line of development in version control systems such as Git, where work on features or releases is done separately from the main line. In programming, a branch is a control flow path chosen by conditional statements, and in processor design a branch instruction directs execution to a different address.

In mathematics, a branch describes a single-valued piece of a multivalued function, such as a branch of the logarithm or square root. Branch cuts and branch points are used to define these pieces and their domains, clarifying where different sheets of a function apply.

A branch also denotes an administrative subdivision of a nation’s government or a corporate entity, such as a branch of government, a bank branch, or a branch office, indicating an administrative or geographic extension of the parent body.

The word branch comes from Latin ramus via Old French branche, and is related to the notion of extending from a central trunk.