The process of marking livestock with a hot iron to show ownership, or the act of creating a brand identity for a product or company.
From Old Norse 'brandr' meaning 'sword' or 'fire,' later referring to a branding iron. The term evolved in Middle English to describe marking cattle, then modernly extended to commercial branding.
Cowboys and modern marketing executives both use 'branding' to claim ownership—one literally burns a mark into cattle hide, the other burns a logo into your memory. It's fascinating how the same word describes both the wild frontier and corporate strategy.
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