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derivation

[der-uh-vey-shuh n]
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noun

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RELATED WORDS

origin, foundation, descent, genealogy, basis, spin-off, provenance, well, etymology, ancestry, inception, provenience, beginning, wellspring

Origin of derivation

1375–1425; late Middle English derivacioun < Latin dērīvātiōn- (stem of dērīvātiō) a turning away, equivalent to dērīvāt(us) (past participle of dērīvāre; see derive, -ate1) + -iōn- -ion
Related formsder·i·va·tion·al, adjectiveder·i·va·tion·al·ly, adverbpre·der·i·va·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for derivation

Historical Examples of derivation

  • The opinion of the Yard was divided respecting the derivation of its name.

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

  • You should consider how inferior we are to them both in the derivation of our birth and in other particulars.

    Alcibiades I

    (may be spurious) Plato

  • I find no key to the derivation of the word Heygre in the Etymologists.

  • He was naturally anxious to make good his derivation of the name.

    The Island Mystery

    George A. Birmingham

  • I say, what 's the derivation of your cockie-leekie,—the etymology of the phrase?

    Roland Cashel

    Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for derivation

derivation

noun

the act of deriving or state of being derived
the source, origin, or descent of something, such as a word
something derived; a derivative
  1. the process of deducing a mathematical theorem, formula, etc, as a necessary consequence of a set of accepted statements
  2. this sequence of statements
  3. the operation of finding a derivative
Derived Formsderivational, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for derivation
n.

early 15c., from Middle French dérivation (14c.), from Latin derivationem (nominative derivatio) "a leading off, turning away," noun of action from past participle stem of derivare (see derive). Grammatical sense is older; general meaning "origination, descent" is from c.1600.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper