Noun

(en noun)

(botany, anatomy) A branching-out, the act or result of developing branches; specifically the divergence of the stem and limbs of a plant into smaller ones, or of similar developments in blood vessels, anatomical structures etc.

* 1829 , Lincoln Phelps, Familiar Lectures on Botany , p. 179:

The character of trees may be studied to advantage [...] in winter, when the forms of the ramification can be seen in the naked boughs [...].

* 1856 , Neil Arnott & Isaac Hayes, Elements of Physics , pp. 414-5:

From the left chamber or ventricle'' of the strong muscular mass, the ''heart'', a large tube arises, called the ''aorta ; and by a continued division or ramification , opens a way for the bright scarlet blood to the very minutest part of the living frame [...].

An offshoot of a decision, fact etc.; a consequence or implication, especially one which complicates a situation.

* 1834 , Sir Walter Scott, Rob Roy :

The treachery of some of the Jacobite agents (Rashleigh among the rest), and the arrest of others, had made George the First's Government acquainted with the extensive ramifications of a conspiracy long prepared, and which at last exploded prematurely [...].

* 2009 , The Guardian , Chris Power, Booksblog, 14 Jul 09:

But most often and memorably his work falls into that territory best summed up as speculative fiction, with a particular emphasis on dystopian futures and the existential ramifications of space exploration.

(mathematics) An arrangement of branches.

Noun

(en noun)

A controlled behaviour; self-control.

* Rogers

The most perfect, who have their passions in the best discipline , are yet obliged to be constantly on their guard.

An enforced compliance or control.

* '>citation

A systematic method of obtaining obedience.

* C. J. Smith

Discipline aims at the removal of bad habits and the substitution of good ones, especially those of order, regularity, and obedience.

A state of order based on submission to authority.

* Dryden

Their wildness lose, and, quitting nature's part, / Obey the rules and discipline of art.

A punishment to train or maintain control.

* Addison

giving her the discipline of the strap

A set of rules regulating behaviour.

A flagellation as a means of obtaining sexual gratification.

A specific branch of knowledge or learning.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-03, volume=408, issue=8847, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= Boundary problems , passage=Economics is a messy discipline : too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art. Perhaps it is fitting that economists’ most-used metric, gross domestic product (GDP), is a tangle too. GDP measures the total value of output in an economic territory. Its apparent simplicity explains why it is scrutinised down to tenths of a percentage point every month.}}

(Bishop Wilkins)

A category in which a certain art, sport or other activity belongs.