partial derivative

noun

, Mathematics.

1. the derivative of a function with respect to one of its variables with all other variables held constant.

partial derivative

noun

1. the derivative of a function of two or more variables with respect to one of the variables, the other or others being considered constant. Written ∂f/∂ x

partial derivative

/ pär′shəl /

1. The derivative with respect to a single variable of a function of two or more variables, regarding other variables as constants.

Word History and Origins

Origin of partial derivative¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

There were multiple algorithms for finding this minimum, from gradient descent to setting the partial derivatives of the variance expression to zero.

From FiveThirtyEight