DERIVATIVE

a. n.

7 definitions — Webster’s Dictionary (1828)


1.
a.

Obtained by derivation; derived; not radical, original, or fundamental; originating, deduced, or formed from something else; secondary; as, a derivative conveyance; a derivative word. Derivative circulation, a modification of the circulation found in some parts of the body, in which the arteries empty directly into the veins without the interposition of capillaries. Flint. -- De*riv"a*tive*ly, adv. -- De*riv"a*tive*ness, n.

2.
n.

That which is derived; anything obtained or deduced from another.

3.
n.

A word formed from another word, by a prefix or suffix, an internal modification, or some other change; a word which takes its origin from a root.

4.
n.

A chord, not fundamental, but obtained from another by inversion; or, vice versa, a ground tone or root implied in its harmonics in an actual chord.

5.
n.

An agent which is adapted to produce a derivation (in the medical sense).

6.
n.

A derived function; a function obtained from a given function by a certain algebraic process.

7.
n.

A substance so related to another substance by modification or partial substitution as to be regarded as derived from it; thus, the amido compounds are derivatives of ammonia, and the hydrocarbons are derivatives of methane, benzene, etc.


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