branch: [13] Branch comes via Old French branche from late Latin branca ‘paw’, but its ultimate origins are not known. In other Romance languages it retains more of its original Latin sense (Spanish branca ‘claw’, for example, and Romanian brinca ‘hand, paw’). The semantic connection between ‘limb of a tree’ and ‘appendage of a person or animal’ is fairly straightforward (compare BOUGH). [branch etymology, branch origin, 英语词源]