Branch

1. a. Diverging from, or tributary to, a main stock, line, way, theme, etc.; as, a branch vein; a branch road or line; a branch topic; a branch store.
2. n. A shoot or secondary stem growing from the main stem, or from a principal limb or bough of a tree or other plant.
3. n. Any division extending like a branch; any arm or part connected with the main body of thing; ramification; as, the branch of an antler; the branch of a chandelier; a branch of a river; a branch of a railway.
4. n. Any member or part of a body or system; a distinct article; a section or subdivision; a department.
5. n. One of the portions of a curve that extends outwards to an indefinitely great distance; as, the branches of an hyperbola.
6. n. A line of family descent, in distinction from some other line or lines from the same stock; any descendant in such a line; as, the English branch of a family.
7. n. A warrant or commission given to a pilot, authorizing him to pilot vessels in certain waters.

The word meanings were obtained from OPTED(The Online Plain Text English Dictionary), which is based on “The Project Gutenberg Etext of Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary” which is in turn based on the 1913 US Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary (See Project Gutenburg), as a text file.