derive

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
10
Words With Friends
11
Letters
6
Pronunciation
/dɪˈɹaɪv/

Definition of derive

7 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

verb

  1. (transitive)To obtain or receive (something) from something else.
    “Reading books is the best way to derive knowledge.”
    “Bob the aforesaid, and his present chances of deriving a competent independence from the honourable profession to which he had devoted himself.”
    “Power is derived from a British United Traction Limited "A"-type 150-h.p. six-cylinder horizontal diesel engine; this drives through a fluid flywheel, and thence through a free wheel unit to a four-speed epicyclic gearbox.”
    “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.”
See all 7 definitions

verb

  1. (transitive)To obtain or receive (something) from something else.
    “Reading books is the best way to derive knowledge.”
    “Bob the aforesaid, and his present chances of deriving a competent independence from the honourable profession to which he had devoted himself.”
    “Power is derived from a British United Traction Limited "A"-type 150-h.p. six-cylinder horizontal diesel engine; this drives through a fluid flywheel, and thence through a free wheel unit to a four-speed epicyclic gearbox.”
    “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)To deduce (a conclusion) by reasoning.
  3. (transitive)To find the derivation of (a word or phrase).
  4. (transitive)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.”
    “Britannia's firebox would appear to have derived from those of the Bulleid Pacifics, which it closely resembles.”
    “Today, popularity is typically a multialgorithmic measure. At Flickr, a photo's interestingness derives from views, comments, notes, bookmarks, favorites...”
    “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.
    “For fear it [water] choke up the pits […] they [the workman] deriue it by other drains.”
  7. (proscribed, transitive)To differentiate (a function).

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

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.

Hooks

3 extensions · 3 back

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