3 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Derivation \Der`iva"tion\, n.
The formation of a word from its more original or radical
elements; also, a statement of the origin and history of a
word.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Derivation \Der`i*va"tion\, n. [L. derivatio: cf. F.
d['e]rivation. See {Derive}.]
1. A leading or drawing off of water from a stream or source.
[Obs.] --T. Burnet.
2. The act of receiving anything from a source; the act of
procuring an effect from a cause, means, or condition, as
profits from capital, conclusions or opinions from
evidence.
As touching traditional communication, . . . I do
not doubt but many of those truths have had the help
of that derivation. --Sir M. Hale.
3. The act of tracing origin or descent, as in grammar or
genealogy; as, the derivation of a word from an Aryan
root.
4. The state or method of being derived; the relation of
origin when established or asserted.
5. That from which a thing is derived.
6. That which is derived; a derivative; a deduction.
From the Euphrates into an artificial derivation of
that river. --Gibbon.
7. (Math.) The operation of deducing one function from
another according to some fixed law, called the law of
derivation, as the of differentiation or of integration.
8. (Med.) A drawing of humors or fluids from one part of the
body to another, to relieve or lessen a morbid process.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
derivation
n 1: the source from which something derives (i.e. comes or
issues); "he prefers shoes of Italian derivation"
2: (historical linguistics) an explanation of the historical
origins of a word or phrase [syn: {deriving}, {etymologizing}]
3: a line of reasoning that shows how a conclusion follows
logically from accepted propositions
4: (descriptive linguistics) the process whereby new words are
formed from existing words or bases by affixation:
`singer' from `sing'; `undo' from `do'
5: inherited properties shared with others of your bloodline
[syn: {ancestry}, {lineage}, {filiation}]
6: drawing of fluid or inflammation away from a diseased part
of the body
7: drawing off water from its main channel as for irrigation