Definition of derivative
- 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.
- n. - That which is derived; anything obtained or deduced
from another.
- 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.
- 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.
- n. - An agent which is adapted to produce a derivation (in
the medical sense).
- n. - A derived function; a function obtained from a given
function by a certain algebraic process.
- 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.