Definition of "branning" [branning]

• The process of steeping cloth before or after dyeing, or skins preparatory to tanning, in a bath or vat of bran-water. (noun)
• The process of removing the oil from tin plates during their manufacture, by passing them through a mixture of bran and slaked lime. (noun)

The Century Dictionary (Public Domain)

• "They were the branning ducks, he on one side, she on the other side of the stream, as is their habit, whence they are fabled to be a pair of lovers who must yearn unavailingly through the long nights from opposite banks of the river."