branche

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bʁɑ̃ʃ/^[1]

Forms

branche f (plural branches)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin branca (“paw (of an animal)”) (4th century),^{[2][3][4][1][5]} which developed the sense “branch of a tree” only in Gallo-Romance, by likeness of shape (1073).^[2][6] The Latin word is rare and of obscure origin;^[2][6] a Celtic origin, suggested by its geographical spread, has been proposed by Bloch and Wartburg, the GLLF and Wiktionary, but Rey finds no support for it in the Celtic languages.^[6][7][1][2] Littré reports that Diez thought it very old, since it is found in Romanian.^[8] The French word replaced Old French rain or ram, from Latin rāmus (“branch”) (compare rameau).^[2]

Compare Old Occitan branca, Italian branca (“claw”) and Romanian brâncă (“front paw”).^[6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Rey dates it to about 980;^[2] the Chanson de Roland has Branches d'olive en vos mains porterez (“you will carry olive branches in your hands”).^[8][7]

Semantic evolution

De branche en branche (13th century) meant figuratively “one after another” (1387–1393) before sauter de branche en branche “to jump from one subject to another” (1690); être comme l'oiseau sur la branche “to be unsettled” is also from 1690.^[2] In Quebec French entendre à travers les branches is “to hear on the grapevine”.^[2]

Analogical senses appear in Old French: each of the tales that make up the Roman de Renart is a branche (about 1178), and the word names a division of a complex whole (1306), a deer's antler (before 1250) and a line of descent from a common stock (1306).^[2] Joinville speaks of the branches of the Nile.^[8] In Belgian and Swiss French it is a school subject.^[2] A bank's branch is recorded in 1873,^[9] and (ma) vieille branche “(my) old pal” dates from 1861 (the Goncourts' Journal).^[2][9] Avoir de la branche “to have class” (before 1907) comes from horsemanship.^[2] Among the derivatives are ébrancher (about 1200), branchu (13th century), branchage (1453) and brancher (1510), first “to perch on a branch”.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 980 – First record.^[2]
• c. 1100 – Branches d'olive in the Chanson de Roland.^[8]
• c. 1178 – A branche of the Roman de Renart.^[2]
• 1306 – A line of descent; a division of a whole.^[2]
• 1453 – Branchage.^[6]
• 1510 – Brancher “to perch”.^[6]
• 1690 – Sauter de branche en branche.^[2]
• 1861 – Vieille branche.^[2]
• 1873 – A branch of a bank.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A branch of a tree: branche morte, maîtresse branche.^[4][1]
2. A branch, division (of a science, an activity, a family): (Belgium, Switzerland) a school subject.^[2][1]
3. A branch, local office (of a firm or bank).^[1][9]
4. (familiar) Ma vieille branche: my old friend.^[2][9]
5. Asperges en branches: whole asparagus spears.^[9]

Word family

• brancher
• branchette
• branchu
• branchage
• ébrancher
• embranchement

Related words

• rameau

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 496a
6. ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e f Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF