differential

[ dif-uh-ren-shuh l ]

/ ˌdɪf əˈrɛn ʃəl /

adjective

of or relating to difference or diversity.

constituting a difference; distinguishing; distinctive: a differential feature.

exhibiting or depending upon a difference or distinction.

Physics, Machinery. pertaining to or involving the difference of two or more motions, forces, etc.

Mathematics. pertaining to or involving a derivative or derivatives.

noun

a difference or the amount of difference, as in rate, cost, quantity, degree, or quality, between things that are comparable.

Also called differential gear. Machinery. an epicyclic train of gears designed to permit two or more shafts to rotate at different speeds, as a set of gears in an automobile permitting the rear wheels to be driven at different speeds when the car is turning.

Mathematics.

a function of two variables that is obtained from a given function, y = f(x), and that expresses the approximate increment in the given function as the derivative of the function times the increment in the independent variable, written as dy = f′(x)dx.
any generalization of this function to higher dimensions.

Commerce.

the difference involved in a differential rate.
differential rate.

Physics. the quantitative difference between two or more forces, motions, etc.: a pressure differential.

Nearby words

different as night and day, different strokes for different folks, differentia, differentiable, differentiable manifold, differentially, differential analyzer, differential association, differential blood count, differential calculus, differential coefficient

Origin of differential

1640–50; < Medieval Latin differentiālis, equivalent to differenti(a) difference + ālis -al¹

Related formsdif·fer·en·tial·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for differentially

And even the suf- fragist does not suggest that the taxes which are levied on women are differentially applied to the uses of men.
The Unexpurgated Case Against Women Suffrage|Almroth E. Wright
The plate is now placed in a furnace and differentially heated so that the face is raised to a higher temperature than the back.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6|Various

British Dictionary definitions for differentially

differential

/ (ˌdɪfəˈrɛnʃəl) /

adjective

of, relating to, or using a difference

constituting a difference; distinguishing

maths of, containing, or involving one or more derivatives or differentials

physics engineering relating to, operating on, or based on the difference between two effects, motions, forces, etcdifferential amplifier

noun

a factor that differentiates between two comparable things

maths

an increment in a given function, expressed as the product of the derivative of that function and the corresponding increment in the independent variable
an increment in a given function of two or more variables, f(x 1, x 2, … x n), expressed as the sum of the products of each partial derivative and the increment in the corresponding variable

an epicyclic gear train that permits two shafts to rotate at different speeds while being driven by a third shaftSee also differential gear

mainly British the difference between rates of pay for different types of labour, esp when forming a pay structure within an industry

(in commerce) a difference in rates, esp between comparable labour services or transportation routes

Derived Formsdifferentially, adverb

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