\An"a*branch\, n. [Anastomosing + branch.]
A branch of a river that re["e]nters, or anastomoses with,
the main stream; also, less properly, a branch which loses
itself in sandy soil. [Australia]
      Such branches of a river as after separation reunite, I
      would term anastomosing branches; or, if a word might
      be coined, anabranches, and the islands they form
      branch islands.                          --Col.
                                               Jackson.