derive

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.

verb

  1. (transitive) To obtain or receive (something) from something else.
    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. 2013 July-August, Sarah Glaz, “Ode to Prime Numbers”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4
  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
    As in much of biology, the most satisfying truths in ecology derive from manipulative experimentation. Tinker with nature and quantify how it responds. 2012-01, Robert M. Pringle, “How to Be Manipulative”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 31
  6. To turn the course of (water, etc.); to divert and distribute into subordinate channels.
    For fear it [water] choke up the pits […] they [the workman] deriue it by other drains. Book 33

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