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.