Old English brand, brond "fire, flame, destruction by fire; firebrand, piece of burning wood, torch," and (poetic) "sword," from Proto-Germanic *brandaz "a burning" (source also of Old Norse brandr, Old High German brant, Old Frisian brond "firebrand; blade of a sword," German brand "fire"), from PIE root *gwher- "to heat, warm."

The meaning "iron instrument for branding" is from 1828. The meaning "mark made by a hot iron" (1550s), especially on a cask, etc., to identify the maker or quality of its contents, had broadened by 1827 to include marks made in other ways, then to "a particular make of goods" (1854). Brand-name is from 1889; brand-loyalty from 1961. Old French brand, brant, Italian brando "sword" are from Germanic (compare brandish).

c. 1400, "to impress or burn a mark upon with a hot iron, cauterize; stigmatize," originally of criminal marks or cauterized wounds, from brand (n.). Figuratively, often in a bad sense, "fix a character of infamy upon," mid-15c., with the criminal marking in mind. As a means of marking ownership or quality of property, 1580s. Related: Branded; branding.

"quite new," 1560s, from brand (n.) + new. The notion is "new as a glowing metal fresh from the forge" (Shakespeare has fire-new; Middle English had span-neue "brand new," c. 1300, from Old Norse span-nyr, from span "chip of wood," perhaps as something likely to be new-made). Popularly bran-new.

also fire-brand, c. 1200, "piece of wood kindled at a fire, a piece of something burning," from fire (n.) + brand (n.). Used for spreading fire. Figurative sense of "one who kindles mischief or passions" is from late 14c.

Germanic masc. proper name, Old High German Hildibrand, literally "battle-sword;" for first element see Hilda; for second element see brand (n.). The name of Gregory VII before he was pope (1073-85).

fem. proper name, Scottish (introduced to a wider English audience in Scott's "The Pirate," 1822), from Old Norse brandr, literally "sword" or torch" (see brand (n.)). Little-used as a given name in U.S. before 1925, but a top-30 name for girls born there 1944-1966: The popular "Brenda Starr" newspaper comic strip debuted in 1940.

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to heat, warm."

It forms all or part of: brand; brandish; brandy; brimstone; brindled; forceps; Fornax; fornicate; fornication; fornix; furnace; hypothermia; thermal; thermo-; Thermopylae; Thermos.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit gharmah "heat;" Old Persian Garmapada-, name of the fourth month, corresponding to June/July, from garma- "heat;" Hittite war- "to burn;" Armenian jerm "warm;" Greek thermos "warm;" Latin formus "warm," fornax "oven;" Old Irish fogeir "heated;" Old English bærnan "to kindle."

phonetic coding system, 1959, from sound (n.1) + brand-name suffix -ex.

1949, proprietary name of a popular brand of cellulose or plastic adhesive tape in Great Britain.

proprietary name of a brand of vodka, said to have been in use since 1914.