枝

• Botanical: A branch or limb of a tree.
• Structural/Organizational: An offshoot, subsidiary, or peripheral extension of a central body.
• Genealogical: A collateral line or cadet branch of a family (descended from the main ancestral line but removed from primary succession).

• Noun: Branch or offshoot.
• Verb: To branch off, diverge, or split from a main path.
• Classifier: Used for long, thin, or slender objects; this function is more characteristic of later periods.

• 枝 vs. 支: While sharing a phonetic root and logic of "support," 枝 is specifically tied to growth and botany. In contrast, 支 refers to mechanical support (props), financial disbursement (spending/paying), or general sustenance.
• 枝 vs. 幹: Often appears in a rhetorical binary where 幹 represents the trunk, core, or essential center, and 枝 represents the limbs, periphery, or incidental details.

Fanqie reading: 章移; Tang-period reading: *jiɛ.

In non-botanical contexts, evaluate whether the text refers to kinship (collateral lines) or organizational structure (subsidiaries). If the glyph appears in a predicate position, consider "diverge" or "branch off."