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derivation - 4 dictionary results

der⋅i⋅va⋅tion

  [der-uh-vey-shuhn]
Use derivation in a Sentence
–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.
a. development of a theorem.
b. differentiation.
6. Grammar.
a. 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 (contrasted with inflection ).
b. the systematic description of such processes in a given language.
7. Linguistics.
a. 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.
b. the process by which such a set of forms is derived.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME derivacioun < L dērīvātiōn- (s. of dērīvātiō) a turning away, equiv. to dērīvāt(us) (ptp. of dērīvāre; see derive, -ate 1 ) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms:
der⋅i⋅va⋅tion⋅al, adjective
der⋅i⋅va⋅tion⋅al⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To derivation
der·i·va·tion   (děr'ə-vā'shən)   
n.  
  1. The act or process of deriving.
  2. The state or fact of being derived; originating: a custom of recent derivation.
  3. Something derived; a derivative.
  4. The form or source from which something is derived; an origin.
  5. The historical origin and development of a word; an etymology.
  6. Linguistics
    1. The process by which words are formed from existing words or bases by adding affixes, as singer from sing or undo from do, by changing the shape of the word or base, as song from sing, or by adding an affix and changing the pronunciation of the word or base, as electricity from electric.
    2. A linguistic description of the process of word formation.
    3. In generative linguistics, the process by which a surface structure is generated from a deep structure.
    4. A formal representation or description of the series of ordered linguistic rules and operations that generate a surface structure from a deep structure.
  7. Logic & Mathematics A logical or mathematical process indicating through a sequence of statements that a result such as a theorem or a formula necessarily follows from the initial assumptions.
der'i·va'tion·al adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Derivation

Der`i*va"tion\, n. [L. derivatio: cf. F. d['e]rivation. See Derive.]

1. A leading or drawing off of water from a stream or source. [Obs.] --T. Burnet.

2. The act of receiving anything from a source; the act of procuring an effect from a cause, means, or condition, as profits from capital, conclusions or opinions from evidence.

As touching traditional communication, . . . I do not doubt but many of those truths have had the help of that derivation. --Sir M. Hale.

3. The act of tracing origin or descent, as in grammar or genealogy; as, the derivation of a word from an Aryan root.

4. The state or method of being derived; the relation of origin when established or asserted.

5. That from which a thing is derived.

6. That which is derived; a derivative; a deduction.

From the Euphrates into an artificial derivation of that river. --Gibbon.

7. (Math.) The operation of deducing one function from another according to some fixed law, called the law of derivation, as the of differentiation or of integration.

8. (Med.) A drawing of humors or fluids from one part of the body to another, to relieve or lessen a morbid process.

Derivation

Der`iva"tion\, n. The formation of a word from its more original or radical elements; also, a statement of the origin and history of a word.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : derivation
Spanish: origen,
German: der Ursprung,
Japanese: 起源
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