ETYM Old Eng. braunche, French branche, from Late Lat. branca claw of a bird or beast of prey; cf. Armor. brank branch, bough.
(Irregular plural: branches).
1. A division of a stem, or secondary stem arising from the main stem of a plant.
2. A part of a forked or branching shape; SYN. fork, leg.
3. A stream or river connected to a larger one.
4. An administrative division of some larger or more complex organization; SYN. subdivision, arm.
ETYM Old Eng. feld, fild, AS. feld; akin to Dutch veld, German feld, Swed. fält, Dan. felt, Icel. fold field of grass, AS. folde earth, land, ground, OS. folda.
1. A geographic region (land or sea) under which something valuable is found.
2. Somewhere (away from a studio or office or library or laboratory) where practical work is done or data is collected.
3. The area that is visible through an optical instrument; SYN. field of view.
4. The space around a body within which it can exert force on another similar body not in contact with it; SYN. field of force, force field.
5. A particular kind of commercial enterprise; SYN. field of operation, line of business.
6. All the competitors in a particular contest or sporting event.
7. (Horse racing) All of the horses in a particular race.