# bough

Pronunciation: say "BOW" /baʊ/

## Noun

1. A main branch of a tree, especially a large one growing directly from the trunk.
   - Simple: A large branch that grows straight out from a tree's trunk.
   - _The climber tested each bough before trusting it with her weight._
   - _Snow weighed down the broad boughs until they nearly touched the ground._

## Noun

2. A gallows: a structure or tree limb from which a condemned person is hanged. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A tree branch or wooden frame used to hang a person to death.

## Origin

The word comes from Middle English "bough" (a branch of a tree or bush), from Old English "bōg" or "bōh" meaning a tree branch, arm, or shoulder, from Proto-Germanic "*bōguz" ("shoulder; upper arm"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European "*bʰeh₂ǵʰús" ("arm"). It is related to Dutch "boeg" and German "Bug", distantly to Ancient Greek "pêkhus" ("forearm"), and is a doublet of "bow" (the front of a ship).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/bough (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).