Derivative
Derivative , adjective
[Latin derivativus: compare French dérivatif.]
Obtained by derivation; derived; not radical, original, or fundamental; originating, deduced, or formed from something else; secondary; as, a derivative conveyance; a derivative word.
2.
Hence, unoriginal (said of art or other intellectual products.
Collocations (1)
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
Derivative , noun
1.
That which is derived; anything obtained or deduced from another.
2.
(Grammar) 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.
3.
(Music) 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.
4.
(Medicine) An agent which is adapted to produce a derivation (in the medical sense).
5.
(Mathematics) A derived function; a function obtained from a given function by a certain algebraic process.
Except in the mode of derivation the derivative is the same as the differential coefficient. See Differential coefficient, under Differential.
6.
(Chemistry) 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.