| n. | 1. | A leading or drawing off of water from a stream or source. |
| 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. | |
| 3. | The act of tracing origin or descent, as in grammar or genealogy; | |
| 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. | |
| 7. | (Math.) The operation of deducing one function from another according to some fixed law, called the law of derivation, as the operation 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. | |
| 9. | The formation of a word from its more original or radical elements; also, a statement of the origin and history of a word. |
| Noun | 1. | derivation - the source from which something derives (i.e. comes or issues); "he prefers shoes of Italian derivation" |
| 2. | derivation - (historical linguistics) an explanation of the historical origins of a word or phrase Synonyms: deriving, etymologizing | |
| 3. | derivation - a line of reasoning that shows how a conclusion follows logically from accepted propositions | |
| 4. | derivation - (descriptive linguistics) the process whereby new words are formed from existing words or bases by affixation: `singer' from `sing'; `undo' from `do' | |
| 5. | derivation - inherited properties shared with others of your bloodline | |
| 6. | derivation - drawing of fluid or inflammation away from a diseased part of the body | |
| 7. | derivation - drawing off water from its main channel as for irrigation |
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