THE FIRST WORD

ramify

PRONUNCIATION:

(RAM-i-fy) 

MEANING:

verb tr., intr.: To divide into branches.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin ramus (branch). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wrad- (root) which also sprouted words such as root, wort, licorice, radical, radish, rutabaga, eradicate, andderacinate. Earliest documented use: 1425.

USAGE:

"Andrew offered to read me a handful of passages from the manuscript ... which had ramified so uncontrollably that it was turning into several distinct projects."
Nicolas Rothwell; The Red Highway; Black Inc.; 2009.