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Definition of derivative noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

derivative

noun
 
/dɪˈrɪvətɪv/
 
/dɪˈrɪvətɪv/
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  1. a word or thing that has been developed or produced from another word or thing
    • ‘Happiness’ is a derivative of ‘happy’.
    • Plastic is a derivative of petroleum.
    Topics Languagec2
    Word Originlate Middle English (in the adjective sense ‘having the power to draw off’, and in the noun sense ‘a word derived from another’): from French dérivatif, -ive, from Latin derivativus, from derivare, from de- ‘down, away’ + rivus ‘brook, stream’.
See derivative in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee derivative in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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