'branchless' originates from the English word 'branch' combined with the suffix '-less', where 'branch' meant 'a part of a tree that grows out from the trunk or from a bough' and '-less' meant 'without'.

'branch' changed from the Old French word 'branche' and eventually became the modern English word 'branch'.

Initially, it meant 'without branches', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.