derive

English

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derive

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Middle English deriven, from Old French deriver, from Latin dērīvō (“to lead, turn, or draw off (a liquid), draw off, derive”), from dē (“away”) + rīvus (“a stream”); see rival. Unrelated to arrive.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dəˈɹaɪv/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪv

Verb

derive (third-person singular simple present derives, present participle deriving, simple past and past participle derived)

1. (transitive) To obtain or receive (something) from something else.
   • 2013 July-August, Sarah Glaz, “Ode to Prime Numbers”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:

     Some poems, echoing the purpose of early poetic treatises on scientific principles, attempt to elucidate the mathematical concepts that underlie prime numbers. Others play with primes’ cultural associations. Still others derive their structure from mathematical patterns involving primes.

2. (transitive, logic) To deduce (a conclusion) by reasoning.
3. (transitive, linguistics) To find the derivation of (a word or phrase).
4. (transitive, chemistry) To create (a compound) from another by means of a reaction.
5. (intransitive) To originate or stem (from).

   her excellent organisation skills derive from her time as a secretary in the army

   • 1951 April, Stirling Everard, “A Matter of Pedigree”, in Railway Magazine, number 600, page 273:

     Britannia's firebox would appear to have derived from those of the Bulleid Pacifics, which it closely resembles.

   • 2012 January, Robert M. Pringle, “How to Be Manipulative”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 31:

     As in much of biology, the most satisfying truths in ecology derive from manipulative experimentation. Tinker with nature and quantify how it responds.

6. To turn the course of (water, etc.); to divert and distribute into subordinate channels.
   • 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. , (please specify |tome=1 or 2), London: Adam Islip, published 1635, →OCLC:
     Book 33

     For fear it choke up the pits they deriue it by other drains.

Derived terms

• derivation
• derivative
• zero derive

Translations

Further reading

• “derive”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “derive”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• drivee, reived, revied, rieved

Asturian

Verb

derive

1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive of derivar

Galician

Verb

derive

1. inflection of derivar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Italian

Noun

derive f pl

1. plural of deriva

Anagrams

• rideve, rivede, vedrei

Portuguese

Verb

derive

1. inflection of derivar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish

Verb

derive

1. inflection of derivar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative