derivative

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. adj. Resulting from or employing derivation: a derivative word; a derivative process.
2. adj. Copied or adapted from others: a highly derivative prose style.
3. n. Something derived.
4. n. Linguistics A word formed from another by derivation, such as electricity from electric.
5. n. Mathematics The limiting value of the ratio of the change in a function to the corresponding change in its independent variable.
6. n. Mathematics The instantaneous rate of change of a function with respect to its variable.
7. n. Mathematics The slope of the tangent line to the graph of a function at a given point. Also called differential coefficient, fluxion.
8. n. Chemistry A compound derived or obtained from another and containing essential elements of the parent substance.
9. n. Business An investment that derives its value from another more fundamental investment, as a commitment to buy a bond for a certain sum on a certain date.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. Derived; taken or having proceeded from another or something preceding; secondary: as, a derivative word; a derivative conveyance.
2. In biology, relating to derivation, or to the doctrine of derivation: as, the derivative theory.
3. In medicine, having a tendency to lessen inflammation or reduce a morbid process.
4. n. In medicine, a therapeutic method or agent employed to lessen a morbid process in one part by producing a flow of blood or lymph to another part, as cupping, leeching, blisters, catharsis, etc.
5. n. That which is derived; that which is deduced or comes by derivation from another.
6. n. Specifically A word derived or formed either immediately from another, or remotely from a primitive or root: thus, ‘verb,’ ‘verbal,’ ‘verbose’ are derivatives of the Latin verbum; ‘duke,’ ‘duct,’ ‘adduce,’ ‘conduce,’ ‘conduct,’ ‘conduit,’ etc., are derivatives of the Latin ducere; ‘feeder’ is a derivative of ‘feed,’ and ‘feed’ a derivative of ‘food.’ See derivation, 3.
7. n. In music: The root or generator from which a chord is derived.
8. n. Same as derivative chord (which see, above).
9. n. In mathematics: A derivative function; a differential coefficient.
10. n. The slope of a scalar function; a vector function whose direction is that of most rapid increase of a scalar function (of which it is said to be the derivative), and whose magnitude is equal to the increase in this direction of the scalar function per unit of distance
11. n. More generally, any function derived from another.
12. In geology, derived from some other source; not native to the rock in which it is now found.

Wiktionary

1. adj. Imitative of the work of someone else.
2. adj. law Referring to a work, such as a translation or adaptation, based on another work that may be subject to copyright restrictions.
3. adj. finance Having a value that depends on an underlying asset of variable value.
4. adj. Lacking originality.
5. n. Something derived.
6. n. linguistics A word that derives from another one.
7. n. finance A financial instrument whose value depends on the valuation of an underlying asset; such as a warrant, an option etc.
8. n. chemistry A chemical derived from another.
9. n. calculus The derived function of a function.
10. n. calculus The value of this function for a given value of its independent variable.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. adj. Obtained by derivation; derived; not radical, original, or fundamental; originating, deduced, or formed from something else; secondary.
2. adj. Hence, unoriginal (said of art or other intellectual products.
3. n. That which is derived; anything obtained or deduced from another.
4. n. (Gram.) 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.
5. n. (Mus.) 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.
6. n. (Med.) An agent which is adapted to produce a derivation (in the medical sense).
7. n. (Math.) A derived function; a function obtained from a given function by a certain algebraic process.
8. n. (Chem.) A substance so related to another substance by modification or partial substitution as to be regarded as derived from it

WordNet 3.0

1. adj. resulting from or employing derivation
2. n. a compound obtained from, or regarded as derived from, another compound
3. n. (linguistics) a word that is derived from another word
4. n. a financial instrument whose value is based on another security
5. n. the result of mathematical differentiation; the instantaneous change of one quantity relative to another; df(x)/dx