branch vs flipper

branch

noun
  • Any of the parts of something that divides like the branch of a tree. 

  • An area in business or of knowledge, research. 

  • A local congregation of the LDS Church that is not large enough to form a ward; see Wikipedia article on ward in LDS church. 

  • The woody part of a tree arising from the trunk and usually dividing. 

  • A sequence of code that is conditionally executed. 

  • A creek or stream which flows into a larger river. 

  • One of the portions of a curve that extends outwards to an indefinitely great distance. 

  • A group of related files in a source control system, including for example source code, build scripts, and media such as images. 

  • A branch line. 

  • A certificate given by Trinity House to a pilot qualified to take navigational control of a ship in British waters. 

  • A location of an organization with several locations. 

  • A line of family descent, in distinction from some other line or lines from the same stock; any descendant in such a line. 

verb
  • To jump to a different location in a program, especially as the result of a conditional statement. 

  • To arise from the trunk or a larger branch of a tree. 

  • To strip of branches. 

  • To discipline (a union member) at a branch meeting. 

  • To produce branches. 

  • To (cause to) divide into separate parts or subdivisions. 

flipper

noun
  • A kind of false tooth, usually temporary. 

  • Television remote control, clicker. 

  • A type of ball bowled by a leg spin bowler, which spins backwards and skids off the pitch with a low bounce. 

  • A flat lever in a pinball machine, triggered by the player to strike the ball and keep it in play. 

  • A small flat used to support a larger one. 

  • Someone who flips, in the sense of buying a house or other asset and selling it quickly for profit. 

  • Someone who flips in any other sense, for example throwing a coin. 

  • In marine mammals such as whales, a wide flat limb, adapted for swimming. 

  • A flat, wide, paddle-like rubber covering for the foot, used in swimming. 

  • A kitchen spatula. 

verb
  • To lift one or both flippers out of the water and slap the surface of the water. 

How often have the words branch and flipper occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )