brand

Etymology

From Middle English brand, from Old English brand (“fire; flame; burning; torch; sword”), from Proto-Germanic *brandaz (“flame; flaming; fire-brand; torch; sword”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrenu- (“to bubble forth; brew; spew forth; burn”). Cognate with Scots brand, West Frisian brân (“fire”), Dutch brand, German Brand, Swedish brand (“blaze, fire”), Icelandic brandur, French brand (< Germanic). Parallel to e.g. Proto-Slavic *gorěti (“to burn”) from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrenu- (“to bubble forth; brew; spew forth; burn”).

noun

1. (obsolete, rare) A conflagration; a flame.
   Goe to prepare the maryages what neede the torchis light? be holde the towres of troy do shyne with brandes that blase full bright. 1559, Jasper Heywood, transl., Troas
   Is yet againe thy brest enflamde, / with brande of venus might 1559, Jasper Heywood, transl., Troas
2. (archaic or poetic) A piece of burning wood or peat, or a glowing cinder.
   To burn something to brands and ashes.
   The fearful brands and bleezes of het fire. 1513, Gavin Douglas, The Eneados
   1859-1890, John Gorham Palfrey, History of New England to the Revolutionary War Snatching a live brand from a wigwam, Mason threw it on a matted roof.
   Or when amid the Grecians shippes, / he threw the brandes of fyre. 1559, Jasper Heywood, transl., Troas
3. (Scotland, Northern England) A torch used for signaling.
4. (archaic) A sword.
5. A mark or scar made by burning with a hot iron, especially to mark cattle or to classify the contents of a cask.
6. A branding iron.
7. The symbolic identity, represented by a name and/or a logo, which indicates a certain product or service to the public.
   The Amtrak brand revitalization approach represents one of the most ambitious, comprehensive, and systematic experiential marketing approaches I have ever seen. 1999, Bernd Schmitt, Experiential marketing, page 39
   In this way, every Citibanker becomes a brand manager and an ambassador of the Citibank brand. ... Indeed, the Citibank brand will "never sleep" 2000, Duane E. Knapp, The Brandmindset, page 67
   Mr. Lundgren claimed that Federated had conducted a focus group and the analysis showed that most people were either indifferent to the name change or preferred the Macy's brand. 2010, Gayle Soucek, Marshall Field's: The Store That Helped Build Chicago, page 136
   Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete. 20 July 2013, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
8. A specific product, service, or provider so distinguished.
   Some brands of breakfast cereal contain a lot of sugar.
9. (by extension) Any specific type or variety of something; a distinct style or manner.
   I didn’t appreciate his particular brand of flattery.
   New Orleans brand sausage; Danish brand ham
   [O]ne minute this "Jihadi John" was struggling to get by, and get accepted, in drizzly England, unemployed with a mortgage to pay and a chip on his shoulder, and the next he stands in brilliant Levantine sunlight, where everything is clear and etched, at the vanguard of some Sunni Risorgimento intent on subjecting the world to its murderous brand of Wahhabi Islam. 17 November 2014, Roger Cohen, “The horror! The horror! The trauma of ISIS [print version: International New York Times, 18 November 2014, p. 9]”, in The New York Times
10. The public image or reputation and recognized, typical style of an individual or group.
    The Obama brand had taken a hit two months earlier, when he campaigned for Creigh Deeds in Virginia and Jon Corzine in New Jersey, only to see them both lose. 2011, Tom Bevan, Carl M. Cannon, Election 2012: The Battle Begins, Crown
    Her brand is edgy, cosmopolitan, and out-of-the-box, so blogging is the perfect, ever-changing match for her. 2012, Start Your Own Personal Concierge Service, Entrepreneur Press, page 104
    He unplugged my umbilical cord to take a leisurely swig, smirking, watching me turn blue before giving it back. My cardiologist told me that was impossible, but I'm still convinced. That's very on-brand for [my twin] Jamie. 2019, Sally Thorne, 99 Percent Mine: A Novel, HarperCollins
    “We made fun of [Jacob Rees-Mogg] in the paper” — that would be Cherwell, Oxford’s student-run weekly, where Kuper was a reporter — “all the while not realizing that we were helping to build his brand.” 2022-05-14, David Segal, quoting Simon Kuper, “An Outsider Takes an Inside Look at the Oxford ‘Chums’ Who Run the U.K.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
11. A mark of infamy; stigma.
12. Any minute fungus producing a burnt appearance in plants.

verb

1. (transitive) To burn the flesh with a hot iron, either as a marker (for criminals, slaves etc.) or to cauterise a wound.
   When they caught him, he was branded and then locked up.
   Man's flesh they eat: their own they paint and sear, / branding with burning iron, — usage fere! 1880, Richard Francis Burton, Os Lusíadas, volume II, page 405
2. (transitive) To mark (especially cattle) with a brand as proof of ownership.
   The ranch hands had to brand every new calf by lunchtime.
3. (transitive) To make an indelible impression on the memory or senses.
   Her face is branded upon my memory.
4. (transitive) To stigmatize, label (someone).
   He was branded a fool by everyone that heard his story.
   As Ferguson strode briskly towards the Stretford End at the final whistle, he will have been reflecting on the extent of the challenge now facing him from the club he once branded "noisy neighbours". October 23, 2011, Phil McNulty, “Man Utd 1-6 Man City”, in BBC Sport
5. (transitive, marketing) To associate a product or service with a trademark or other name and related images.
   They branded the new detergent "Suds-O", with a nature scene inside a green O on the muted-colored recycled-cardboard box.