The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Branchia \Bran"chi*a\, n.; pl. Branchi[ae]. [L., fr. Gr. ?, pl. of ?.] (Anat.) A gill; a respiratory organ for breathing the air contained in water, such as many aquatic and semiaquatic animals have. [1913 Webster]WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
branchia n 1: respiratory organ of aquatic animals that breathe oxygen dissolved in water [syn: gill, branchia]