Brand \Brand\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Branded; p. pr. & vb. n. Branding.]

.

1. To burn a distinctive mark into or upon with a hot iron, to indicate quality, ownership, etc., or to mark as infamous (as a convict).

2. To put an actual distinctive mark upon in any other way, as with a stencil, to show quality of contents, name of manufacture, etc.

3. Fig.: To fix a mark of infamy, or a stigma, upon.

The Inquisition branded its victims with infamy. --Prescott.

There were the enormities, branded and condemned by the first and most natural verdict of common humanity. --South.

4. To mark or impress indelibly, as with a hot iron.

As if it were branded on my mind. --Geo. Eliot.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Brand \Brand\, n. [OE. brand, brond, AS. brand brond brand, sword, from byrnan, beornan, to burn; akin to D., Dan., Sw., & G. brand brand, Icel. brandr a brand, blade of a sword. [root]32. See Burn, v. t., and cf. Brandish.]

1. A burning piece of wood; or a stick or piece of wood partly burnt, whether burning or after the fire is extinct.

Snatching a live brand from a wigwam, Mason threw it on a matted roof. --Palfrey.

2. A sword, so called from its glittering or flashing brightness. [Poetic] --Tennyson.

Paradise, so late their happy seat, Waved over by that flaming brand. --Milton.

3. A mark made by burning with a hot iron, as upon a cask, to designate the quality, manufacturer, etc., of the contents, or upon an animal, to designate ownership; -- also, a mark for a similar purpose made in any other way, as with a stencil. Hence, figurately: Quality; kind; grade; as, a good brand of flour.

4. A mark put upon criminals with a hot iron. Hence: Any mark of infamy or vice; a stigma.

The brand of private vice. --Channing.

5. An instrument to brand with; a branding iron.

6. (Bot.) Any minute fungus which produces a burnt appearance in plants. The brands are of many species and several genera of the order Puccini[ae]i.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)