Ramify has been part of English since the 15th century and is an offshoot of the Latin word for "branch," which is ramus. English acquired several scientific words from ramus, including biramous ("having two branches"). Another English word derived from ramus is the now obsolete ramage, meaning "untamed" or "wild." Ramage originated in falconry—it was initially used of young hawks that had begun to fly from branch to branch in trees. The most common ramus word, though, is a direct descendant of ramify. Ramification in its oldest sense means "branch, offshoot," but is most commonly used to mean "consequence, outgrowth." Ramify started out as a scientific word, at first referring to branching parts of plants and trees and later to veins and nerves, but it soon branched out into non-scientific and even figurative uses, as in "ideas that ramify throughout society."
the rise of cable television ramified the audience, creating ever smaller segments for an ever growing array of programming choices
Recent Examples on the WebFor an object that is fundamentally a box, designed to keep things inside it, the shipping container is a remarkable lesson in the uncontainable nature of modern life—the way our choices, like our goods, ramify around the world. Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 30 May 2022 The outcome of the Kings River conflict will ramify throughout the Central Valley and the state. Susie Cagle, Wired, 12 Apr. 2022 But in complex technological systems, small mistakes may rapidly ramify and compound into large problems. Naomi Oreskes, Scientific American, 16 Aug. 2021 But as the forking paths continue to ramify, Truth is to be found not in one place, but everywhere. Hari Kunzru, Harpers Magazine, 5 Jan. 2021 These troubles ramify, with a brilliant dramatic turn, when a Philadelphia hipster (Théodore Pellerin), who earlier targeted the girls with urgent and unwanted flirtation, turns up again, in the film's third act. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2020 Over subsequent decades, the explanations would ramify and mutate.The Economist, 20 Dec. 2019 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English ramifien, from Anglo-French ramifier, from Medieval Latin ramificare, from Latin ramus branch; akin to Latin radix root — more at root