branch point
Americannoun
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Electricity. a point in an electric network at which three or more conductors meet.
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Mathematics. a point such that analytic continuation of a given function of a complex variable in a small neighborhood of the point produces a different functional value at the point.
Etymology
Origin of branch point
First recorded in 1875–80
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Organisms in two taxa may have split apart at a specific branch point, but neither taxa gave rise to the other.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
A branch point indicates where two lineages diverged.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
When two lineages stem from the same branch point, they are sister taxa.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Also, by starting with a single species and tracing backward to any branch point, the organisms related to it by various degrees of closeness can be identified.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013
And on our small planet, this moment in history is a historical branch point as profound as the confrontation of the Ionian scientists with the mystics 2,500 years ago.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
