WordWeb Online

1. The source or origin from which something derives (i.e. comes or issues)
   "he prefers shoes of Italian derivation"; "music of Turkish derivation"
    
2. (historical linguistics) an explanation of the historical origins of a word or phrase
   - 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' or 'undo' from 'do' are examples of derivations"
    
5. Inherited properties shared with others of your bloodline
   - 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
    
8. The act of deriving something or obtaining something from a source or origin

Derived forms: derivations

See also: crossbred, purebred

Type of: account, act, beginning, deed, drawing, drawing off, explanation, hereditary pattern, human action, human activity, illation, inference, inheritance, linguistic process, origin, root, rootage, source

Encyclopedia: Derivation