differentiation

American  

[dif-uh-ren-shee-ey-shuhn] / ˌdɪf əˌrɛn ʃiˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of differentiating, or the state of being differentiated.

2. Mathematics. the operation of finding the differential or derivative of a function.

3. Biology. the process by which cells or tissues change from relatively generalized to specialized kinds, during development.

---

differentiation British  

/ ˌdɪfəˌrɛnʃɪˈeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act, process, or result of differentiating

2. maths an operation used in calculus in which the derivative of a function or variable is determined; the inverse of integration See integration

3. any process in which a mixture of materials separates out partially or completely into its constituent parts, as in the cooling and solidification of a magma into two or more different rock types or in the gradual separation of an originally homogeneous earth into crust, mantle, and core

---

differentiation Scientific  

/ dĭf′ə-rĕn′shē-ā′shən /

1. In calculus, the process of computing the derivative of a function.

2. Compare integration

3. The process by which cells or parts of an organism change during development to serve a specific function. The cells of an animal in its early embryonic phase, for example, are identical at first but develop by differentiation into specific tissues, such as bone, heart muscle, and skin. The factors determining the differentiation of any particular cell are not well understood, but in deuterostomes (vertebrates and other complex animals) they include the location of the cell relative to other cells.

---

Etymology

Origin of differentiation

First recorded in 1800–10; differentiat(e) + -ion

Example Sentences

Among exporters, Goldman sees increasing importance to “competitive differentiation”: Taiwan’s cutting-edge semiconductor technology, India’s services exports, or a critical role in China’s supply chains—such as Indonesia in the battery supply chain.

From Barron's

What makes this “healthy correction” as opposed to a bubble bursting is that there is plenty of differentiation between winners and losers.

From MarketWatch

Webb, who became a Hong Kong permanent resident, believed that the former British colony's success was its "differentiation" from mainland China.

From Barron's

This systematic approach allowed the team to outline the major steps of neural differentiation.

From Science Daily

"But the fact that we do have different sizes it you know it begs the question if there is some social differentiation sitting behind that," he said.

From BBC