derivation

[ der-uh-vey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or fact of deriving or of being derived.
2. the process of deriving.
3. the source from which something is derived; origin.
4. something that is or has been derived; derivative.
5. Mathematics.
   1. development of a theorem.
   2. differentiation ( def 2 ).
6. Grammar.
   1. the process or device of adding affixes to or changing the shape of a base, thereby assigning the result to a form class that may undergo further inflection or participate in different syntactic constructions, as in forming service from serve, song from sing, and hardness from hard ( inflection ).
   2. the systematic description of such processes in a given language.
7. Linguistics.
   1. a set of forms, including the initial form, intermediate forms, and final form, showing the successive stages in the generation of a sentence as the rules of a generative grammar are applied to it.
   2. the process by which such a set of forms is derived.

derivation

/ ˌdɛrɪˈveɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of deriving or state of being derived
2. the source, origin, or descent of something, such as a word
3. something derived; a derivative
4. 1. the process of deducing a mathematical theorem, formula, etc, as a necessary consequence of a set of accepted statements
   2. this sequence of statements
   3. the operation of finding a derivative

Derived Forms

• ˌderiˈvational, adjective

Other Words From

• deri·vation·al adjective
• deri·vation·al·ly adverb
• preder·i·vation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of derivation¹

1375–1425; late Middle English derivacioun < Latin dērīvātiōn- (stem of dērīvātiō ) a turning away, equivalent to dērīvāt ( us ) (past participle of dērīvāre; derive, -ate ¹ ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

Now, Vijay Balasubramanian, a gravitational theorist at the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues say they have come up with a derivation that works for realistic black holes.

From Science Magazine

Moreover, the derivation of the organizational name was, and remains, elusive.

From Seattle Times

“I found a piece of wire rope and realized it was like rope but steel — and in that sense, it was a derivation of fiber,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times

The word “Nyad” is a derivation of “naiad,” the water nymph from Greek mythology.

From Los Angeles Times

Because of the derivation of the term and because it literally meant "split," people decided schizophrenia meant split personality.

From Salon