Etymology

Noun

1. 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 [...].

2. 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.

3. An arrangement of branches.