ETYM Old Eng. brand, brond, AS. brand brond brand, sword, from byrnan, beornan, to burn; akin to Dutch, Dan., Swed., and German brand brand, Icel. brandr a brand, blade of a sword. Related to Burn, Brandish.
1. A piece of wood that has been burned or is burning; SYN. firebrand.
2. A recognizable kind; SYN. make.
3. Identification mark on skin, made by burning.
Or trademark a named good in competition with other similar goods in the market. For example, Nescafé is a brand of coffee; Persil is a brand of washing powder. Producers attempt to “differentiate” or establish a distinctive brand image for their products because a successful brand will help them maintain or even increase their share of the market.
Successful brands often sell at a premium—a slightly higher price than their competitors—enabling producers to earn higher profits. The aim of any company is to become the brand leader in the market, to have the brand which has the highest share of the market. Brands have to be launched and then the brand image maintained. This is done through advertising and promotion. One of the advantages to the consumer of branding is that producers attempt to maintain consistent quality with their branded goods. Consumers therefore know what they are buying when they make a repeat purchase.

To burn with a branding iron to indicate ownership; of animals.

Pen name of Frederick Faust (1892-1944) US novelist and poet. Brand was one of the earliest mass-market writers, author of over 500 novels. The majority of these were Westerns, the first of which was The Untamed 1918. His most famous Western novel was Destry Rides Again 1930, which was made into a film 1939. He was the creator of Dr Kildare, later a popular television series.