▪ I. brand, n.
(brænd)
Also 1–7 brond(e, 4 bront, broond, 5 bronnd, 6 Sc. broynd, 7 bran, 9 dial. bron.
[Com. Teut.: OE. brand, brǫnd = OFris. brand (MDu. bran(d), Du. brand) OHG., MHG. brant (mod.G. brand), ON. brand-r:—OTeut. *brando-z, f. bran- pret. stem of *brinn-an to burn + suffix -do, as in word.]
I. Act, means, or result of burning.
† 1. Burning, conflagration, destruction by fire.
| a 1000 Beowulf 4258 Hy hine ne moston..bronde forbærnan. c 1300 K. Alis. 1856 They..stete fuyre, and wilde bronnd, Anon in kyng Daries lond. |
2. A piece of wood that is or has been burning on the hearth; also poet. a torch, a match or linstock (see quot. 1810).
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. John xviii. 3 Judas..cuom ðidir mið lehtfatum & brondum & woepnum. a 1000 Dan. 246 (Gr.) Bæron brandas on bryne fyres. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 81 He wule aquikien and al þe brond tenden. a 1300 Cursor M. 7154 Vn-to þair tails fir he band, Foluand ilk fox a brand. 1477 Earl Rivers Dictes (Caxton) 16 Scornyng..wastith loue as the fiere doth the bronde. a 1547 Surrey æneid iv. 505 With burial brandes I absent shall thee chase. a 1674 Milton Hist. Mosc. Wks. 1738 II. 129 So cold..that the very Sap of their Wood-fewel burning on the fire, freezes at the Brand's-end. 1735 Somerville Chase ii. 409 Like Flocks of Sheep they fly Before the flaming Brand. 1810 Campbell Batt. Baltic i, By each gun the lighted brand, In a bold determined hand. 1835 W. Irving Tour Prairies 41 The brands of one of their fires were still smoking. |
3. transf. and fig. † a. collect. or in pl. The fire on the hearth. Obs. or dial.
| a 1300 Prov. Hendyng 109 Este bueþ oune brondes, quoþ Hendyng. 1862 Barnes Rhymes Dorset Dial. I. 129 She warm'd em some cider avore the bron. |
b. a brand from the burning or brand from the fire (in allusion to Zech. iii. 2 and Amos iv. 11): a person delivered from imminent danger.
| 1382 Wyclif Zech. iii. 2 Wher this is not a dead brond rauyshid of the fijr. 1535 Coverdale ibid. Is not this a brande taken out of the fyre? 1779 Wesley Hymns (1831) 170 O Jesus, of thee I inquire, If still thou art able..The brand to pluck out of the fire. 1822 R. Cox Life Fletcher ii. 17 His prayer hence was, ‘Save me, Lord, as a brand snatched out of the fire’. |
c. The torches of Cupid and the Furies.
| c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 2252 The furyes thre with all hir mortall bronde. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 112 So shalt thou easely..quench the brandes of Cupide. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. ii. iv. 91 Two winking Cupids..nicely Depending on their Brands. 1795 Burke Let. Wks. 1842 II. 245 The meditations of the closet have..inflamed armies with the brands of the furies. |
d. Jove's brand or God's brand: the lightning. Phoebus' brand: the burning rays of the sun. With a blending of the sense ‘weapon’: (cf. Milton's ‘flaming brand’ of the archangel in P.L. xii. 643).
| 1513 Douglas æneis viii. vi. 20 Into this land Saturnus com, fleand gret Jovis brand. 1596 Spenser F.Q. i. viii. 21 Where th' Almighties lightning brond does light. 1620 T. Peyton Parad. in Farr S.P. 177 A smoky hill, which sends forth fiery brands Of burning oyle, much like the sword the tree of life doth keepe. 1885 H. H. Gibbs tr. Integer Vitae in Nat. Rev., And o'er me Phœbus' fiery brand, Fierce beating from above. |
e. Applied to persons. Cf. firebrand.
| 1608 R. Armin Nest Ninn. 4 And you of our Innes of Court, nimble braind brands that burne without smoking. |
4. a. The mark made by burning with a hot iron.
| 1552 Huloet, Bronde, or marke made with a whote yron. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 220 The marke or brand of a buls head which was imprinted vpon his [Bucephalus'] shoulder. 1722 De Foe Moll Fl. (1840) 219 My comrade, having the brand of an old offender, was executed. 1851 Longfellow Gold. Leg. iv. v, I see the scar, The brand upon your forehead. |
b. fig. A sign or mark, sometimes in a general sense, but usually (with reference to the practice of branding criminals) conveying the idea of disgrace; a stigma, a mark of infamy.
| 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxv. §11 To mark that age with the brand of error and superstition. 1628 Prynne Cens. Cozens 98 Are they not a public brand and blemish to our Church? 1651 Cleveland Poems 24 No Fellon is more letter'd, though the brand Both superscribes his shoulder and his hand. 1726 De Foe Hist. Devil ii. vi. (1840) 244 The devil could go nowhere without this particular brand of infamy. 1853 Marsden Early Purit. 324 The brand of that day's infamy will never disappear from the annals of Massachusetts. |
c. A trade-mark, whether made by burning or otherwise. (Applied to trade-marks on casks of wines or liquors, timber, metals, and any description of goods except textile fabrics.)
| 1827 Motley v. Downman 3 Mylne & Craig Law Rep. 4 The proprietors have added the brand mark ‘Margam’ on each box. 1881 Mechanic §155. 53 Timbers from Swedish ports are marked on the ends with red letters or brands. |
d. spec. A mark of ownership impressed on cattle, horses, etc., by branding. Also attrib. and Comb., as brand blotter, one who steals cattle and obliterates the ownership-marks. Chiefly U.S.
| 1665 in Conn. Public Rec. (1852) II. 28 They shal enter such saile..in the said brand booke. 1667 Ibid. 58 For yr brand of horses they shal have ye letter V on ye near buttock. 1707 Boston News-Let. 10 Feb. 2/2 A prety large bright bay Gelding, having a Brand on his near Buttock of this form d. 1869 C. L. Brace New West xxii. 288 The brands, both of cattle and horses,..are controlled by law in California. 1888 Century Mag. Apr. 860 A man must have natural gifts, as well as great experience, before he becomes a good brand-reader. 1910 W. M. Raine B. O'Connor 107 You red-haided [= headed] son of a brand blotter. 1930 L. G. D. Acland Early Canterbury Runs iv. 77 He was probably D. A. or J. D. Brittan, who registered a brand between them in 1854. 1963 A. Lubbock Austral. Roundabout 147 A brand-forger with a dozen aliases. |
e. A steer or other animal bearing a particular brand-mark. U.S.
| 1881 G. W. Romspert Western Echo 186 It is seldom they kill their own brands. 1903 A. Adams Log Cowboy vii. 90, I must have inspection papers before I can move a brand out of the county in which it is bred. |
5. An iron instrument for making marks by burning, or (quot. 1828) for cauterizing a wound.
| 1828 Scott F.M. Perth II. 159 The more I felt the pain his knife and brand inflicted, the better was my chance of recovery. 1860 W. Collins Wom. White ii. v. 321 Pain and fear and grief written on her as with a brand. |
6. (transf. from 4 c.) A particular sort or class of goods, as indicated by the trade-marks on them.
| 1854 Miss Warner Old Helmet I. 266 The ale was of a superior brand. 1864 Reader 25 June 803 The most renowned dealers whose brand passes muster. 1880 Print. Trades Jrnl. xxxi. 14 The perfume of this brand of wax is delightful. 1883 Harper's Mag. Aug. 451/1 There are special brands of steel wire for the shrouds and stays. |
7. A species of blight in plants, causing the leaves and young shoots to look as though they were burnt; called also burn (cf. Ger. brand).
| 1639 Horn & Robotham Gate Lang. Unl. vi. §52 If it be over heated, it turns to brand or mildew. 1861 Miss Pratt Flower. Plants III. 386 Of truly parasitic plants some..are known by the common names of Mildew, Rust, Brand, etc. 1881 Whitehead Hops 58 There are special forms of these fungi, known as rust or brand. |
II. 8. The blade of a sword or similar weapon, and hence (like ‘blade’) the sword itself. [So also in Icel. and in later times in OF. and MHG. brant: possibly from its flashing in the light.] † a. Blade, weapon. Obs. (exc. as in b).
| c 1050 Will of æthelstan æth. in Thorpe Dipl. 559 Ic ᵹean Eadmunde minon breðer þæs swurdes þe Offa cyng ahte..and anes brandes. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 26 A swerd or a knyf..Thei myȝten..wiþdrawe þes brondis þat þus done harme. |
b. A sword. (Cf. the poetical use of ‘blade’.) A poetical use, though in the present century writers of romance have used it in prose as an archaism.
| a 1000 Beowulf 2912 Hine syððan no brond ne beadomecas bitan ne meahton. c 1205 Lay. 15239 He scal leosen þa hond þurh his aȝene brand. c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1584 Braydez out a bryȝt bront, & bigly forth strydez. c 1400 Destr. Troy 7926 And I thi bane for to be with my brond egge. c 1440 York Myst. xxix. 142 Yone boy with a brande Brayede me full nere. a 1541 Wyatt Psalm xxxvii. 14 They have unsheathed eke their bloody bronds. 1667 Milton P.L. xii. 643 Th' Eastern side..Of Paradise..Wav'd over by that flaming Brand. 1718 Pope Iliad v. 105 On his broad shoulder fell the forceful brand. 1820 Scott Abbot iii, There ne'er was gentleman but who belted him with the brand. 1873 Symonds Grk. Poets v. 124 My wealth's a burly spear and brand. |
9. attrib. (sense 6) and Comb., as brand-image, the impression of a product in the minds of potential users or consumers; also transf. and fig., the general or popular conception of some person or thing; brand-name, a trade or proprietary name; also transf.
| 1958 M. Mayer Madison Avenue U.S.A. iii. 59 David Ogilvy, of Ogilvy, Benson & Mather, apostle of the ‘brand image’. Ibid. iii. 63 Ogilvy's brand-image advertising..works essentially on the consumer's conscious mind in an effort to convince him that brand A, technically identical with brand B, is somehow a better product. 1959 News Chron. 14 July 4/6 In the jargon of the P.R. trade, there is as yet no ‘brand image’ for the Prime Minister of Japan. 1960 K. Amis New Maps of Hell ii. 45 Space-opera with a full complement of BEMs and a small staff of mad scientists attended by scantily clad daughters constitutes..the main brand-image of science fiction. |
| 1961 Guardian 27 May 6/2 Methods..used to determine brand loyalty among smokers. |
| 1922 Hotel World 25 Mar. 9 (heading) Brand names on menus? 1950 A. H. Sayer et al. Economics in our Democracy iv. xiii. 99 Each package has a brand name, which identifies the product as having been made by a certain manufacturer. 1952 E. Partridge From Sanskrit 49 The association existed long before any Scotch whisky received the brand-name the real Mackay. 1958 Spectator 27 June 836/2 The brand-name wrapped loaf. 1960 20th Cent. Sept. 234 Mr. Wesker's enemies dismiss him as a mere brand-name oversold by the theatrical Left. |
Add: [9.] brand leader, the leading or best-selling product of its type.
| 1967 Times Rev. Industry Feb. 30/1 The group's list of products..contains not only a remarkably large number of household names..but also many modern *brand leaders, such as Robinson's Barley Water, Windolene, Steradent, Harpic and Nulon. 1986 Marketing Week 29 Aug. 6/3 Chocolate countlines which include products such as Kit Kat (brand leader) and Wagon Wheels, represent two thirds of the advertising spend in the entire biscuit market. |
hence brand-leading a.
| 1985 Financial Times 1 May 27/1 The importance of flavour technology was demonstrated last week when Coca-Cola said it had changed the secret recipe for its *brand-leading drink. |
Brand X, an unnamed brand contrasted unfavourably with a product of the same type which is being promoted; also transf.
| 1934 J. Rorty Our Master's Voice xiii. 232 An Old Gold cigarette contains 6576 B.T.U.'s; whereas *Brand X contained 6688 B.T. U.'s, Brand Y 6731 B.T.U.'s and Brand Z 6732 B.T.U.'s. 1962 Observer 1 July 8/6 The evidence on which the [Pilkington] Committee bases its sweeping Brand X condemnation of the quality of the popular programmes on independent television is particularly thin. 1978 N.Y. Times 28 May iv. 7/2 Republican prospects of unity contrast with Brand X, which is likely to hold primaries for Comptroller and Attorney-General; even Governor Carey may face a primary contest. 1986 Amer. Banker 5 Nov. 8/4 The consumer really doesn't want Brand X. He doesn't want any old soft drink, or any old automobile, or any old bank. |
▸ brand awareness n. (the extent of) consumer familiarity with the name, image, or distinctive qualities of a particular brand of goods or services.
| 1950 Public Opinion Q. 14 550/2 Studies in advertising recall, slogan recognition, and *brand awareness are sometimes conducted by mail! Such studies typically produce very encouraging ‘findings’ for the sponsor of the ‘research’. 1981 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 9 Dec. 18 Advertising seems to serve as a significant informal source of socialization about alcohol, although most advertisements focused more on brand awareness than general information about alcohol. 2003 New Architect Feb. 29/1 Brand-awareness studies generally measure the difference in the percentage of users who properly identified key brand elements after seeing an ad versus those in a control group who weren't exposed to the ad. |
▸ brand identity n. Advertising and Marketing a set of attributes designed to distinguish a particular firm, product, or line, with the intention of promoting awareness and loyalty on the part of consumers.
| 1927 Los Angeles Times 1 Mar. i. 15 (advt.) Sun-maid has intrenched itself in a firm, dependable position premised upon stable prices and *brand identity. 1961 Times 20 Dec. 15/7 The brand identities of Prestcold and English Electric will be retained and each company will continue to market individually. 2003 Creativity May 34 Chase works across a range of design disciplines including brand identity, package design, motion graphics and environments. |
▸ brand loyalty n. the tendency of a consumer to continue buying the same brand of goods despite the availability of competing brands.
| 1934 N.Y. Times 7 May 13 (advt.) How many families have no brand choice in your line, and are still to be sold a definite *brand loyalty? 1961 Guardian 27 May 6/2 Methods..used to determine brand loyalty among smokers. 1970 A. Toffler Future Shock iv. 64 The rapidity with which consumers' needs shift is reflected in the alacrity with which buyers abandon product and brand loyalty. 2002 New Yorker 13 May 6/3 For of-the-moment products like MP3 players or new beverages, success doesn't require establishing permanent brand loyalty but simply getting people to give the products a try. |
▸ brand management n. the supervision of the promotion of a particular brand of goods; (also) the department of a company, etc., responsible for this activity.
| 1952 N.Y. Times 27 Apr. (Business section) 9 (advt.) Openings exist in the following groups: *Brand Management... Men employed for this work are trained to accept the responsibility for the effectiveness of the over-all Advertising and Promotion effort on an important nationally advertised brand. 1977 Statistician 26 273 A pack test was conducted to assess which of two alternative carton designs was preferred by deodorant users... One carton depicted the product with its cap on (and was adjudged the more aesthetic design by brand management). 2003 Sporting News 13 Jan. 7/3 Parker oversees all product development and brand mangagement. |
▸ brand manager n. an executive responsible for supervising the promotion of a particular brand of goods.
| 1944 N.Y. Times 6 Mar. 27 Allan M. Craig has been appointed national *brand manager of Four Roses Whisky... He will devote his entire time to national merchandising of Four Roses whisky. 2001 Guardian 5 July (Online section) 9/6 Anthony Davies, brand manager for Cadbury's Time Out, points to the added impact from incorporating virals in the marketing mix. |
▪ II. brand, v.
(brænd)
Also 4–6 brond(e, 5 bronne.
[f. prec.]
1. trans. To burn with a hot iron, whether for the purpose of marking the flesh (as in the case of criminals or slaves), or of cauterizing as a surgical operation; also fig.
| c 1400 Apol. Loll. 103 Hauing þer consciens iren brondit. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 53 Bronnyn wythe an yren [1499 brondyn], cauterizo. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 109 Both men and women do brand their armes for the loue of each other. 1753 Scots Mag. Feb. 97/1 The former is to be branded and imprisoned. 1850 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom xi. 91 Has been branded in his right hand with the letter H. |
2. a. To mark indelibly, as a proof of ownership, as a sign of quality, or for any other purpose; to impress (a word, letter, or device) by way of brand. spec. to mark (cattle or horses) with a brand.
| 1587 Golding De Mornay xii. 177 Thou wouldest that God should at leastwise brond him with the broade arrow. 1644 in Conn. Public Rec. (1850) I. 118 Owners..shall earemarke or brand all their Cattle and swyne that are aboue halfe a yeare old. 1652 [see branded ppl. a.2 1 a]. 1669 in Springfield (Mass.) Rec. (1899) II. 101 There are many horses to be branded. 1681 Cotton Wond. Peak (ed. 4) 43 Every step did brand Assured footing in the yielding sand. 1765 Washington Diaries (1925) I. 216 Calves and Yearl[in]gs branded on the Right Shoulder GW. 1805 J. Luccock Nat. Wool 113 When sheep are not branded with pitch, or any other substance injurious to the staple. 1869 C. L. Brace New West xxii. 288 Each owner..lassoed the cattle which were his, branding the calves and those whose marks were somewhat obliterated. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 253/2 The mark was the letters ‘M. C.’ branded on tin-plates. |
b. fig. To set a mental mark of ownership upon; also, to impress (a fact, an event) indelibly on one's memory.
| 1602 Warner Alb. Eng. xi. lxiii. (1612) 273 The greene knight, be whoso he shall, her heart had branded hers. 1848 Kingsley Saint's Trag. v. i. 226 To brand upon your thoughts How she was once a woman. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 531, I was able to recall every word of this, which is branded into my mind. 1879 Farrar St. Paul (1883) 114 Words and utterances..branded indelibly upon the memory. |
3. fig. To mark or stamp with infamy, stigmatize.
| 1625 Bacon Atheism, Ess. (Arb.) 337 All..are branded with the Name of Atheists. a 1674 Clarendon Hist. Reb. (1702) I. iii. 215 They..intended by some Vote to Brand him, and make him odious. 1771 Cumberland West Ind. iv. iv, Brand me for a coward if I baulk you. a 1853 Robertson Lect. ii. 61 Dare we brand infidelity with hard names? |
▸ trans. Marketing. To apply a trade mark or brand to (a product); to promote (a product or service) on the basis of a brand name or design. Cf. brand n. 6, rebrand v. 2.
| 1909 Times 2 Oct. 16/6 The Government had introduced the ‘Rune’ brand for Swedish butter... Only the really best butter would be branded. 1912 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 26 715 The textile manufacturers who are beginning to brand their goods..seek..to increase their sales by building up a demand for their product as against the product of other manufacturers. 1985 Chicago Tribune (Nexis) 3 Jan. 9 b, The chicken industry has been successful with branding their products. 1994 Independent on Sunday 20 Nov. (Rev. section) 32/3 Most BBC ‘junctions’ (tellyspeak for breaks) show trailers bookended by the ‘1’, ‘2’, wobbly jellies and hatching eggs that brand the channels. |
▪ III. brand
obs. form of brawned.