GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Derivative (?), a. [L. derivativus: cf. F. 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.”
   
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   2. Hence, unoriginal (said of art or other intellectual products.
   
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   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.
   
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2.       
   Derivative, n.
   1. That which is derived; anything obtained or deduced from another.
   
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   2. (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.
   
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   3. (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.
   
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   4. (Med.) An agent which is adapted to produce a derivation (in the medical sense).
   
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   5. (Math.) A derived function; a function obtained from a given function by a certain algebraic process.
   
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   ☞ Except in the mode of derivation the derivative is the same as the differential coefficient. See Differential coefficient, under Differential.
   
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   6. (Chem.) 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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