rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryboughTree branch
noun

bough

BOWW/baʊ/

A large branch of a tree.

A heavy bough extends from the tree trunk.

A substantial living tree limb extends sideways from a thick trunk, its heavy woody structure contrasting clearly with the small leafy twigs branching from it.
Etymology
boughOld Englishshoulder, arm; tree branch

Old English bog meant “shoulder” or “arm” and also came to mean a tree branch. A bough thus reflects the image of a branch as a tree’s arm.

In context

Libranima119:04
tore from an oak a ponderous bough or branch, and with it did such things
Don Quixote - Cervantes (Illustrated Audiobook) Part 1 of 4

More examples

  • Snow bent the tree’s lower boughs.
  • The owl perched on a thick bough.
  • One broken bough blocked the driveway.

Forms

bough · boughs

Similar words

branch
Branch is the general term; bough usually identifies a large tree branch.
limb
Limb is a near-equivalent for a substantial tree branch.