# derive

Pronunciation: say "di-RYV" /dɪˈɹaɪv/

## Verb

1. To obtain or receive something from a particular source.
   - Simple: To get something useful or good from another thing or source.
   - _Investors derive their returns from dividends and rising share prices._
   - _The community derived its clean water from a nearby mountain spring._
2. To originate or stem from a particular source.
   - Simple: To come from something as its source or starting point.
   - _Several modern holidays derive from ancient harvest festivals._
   - _The haunting melody derives from an old folk song._
3. To reach a conclusion through logical reasoning.
   - Simple: To work out an answer or conclusion by careful thinking.
   - _From these axioms, mathematicians derive the rest of the theory._
   - _She derived the final result from a handful of basic assumptions._
4. To trace the origin and historical development of a word or phrase.
   - Simple: To find out where a word came from and how it began.
   - _Etymologists derive 'companion' from Latin roots meaning 'with bread.'_
   - _The scholar derived the surname from a medieval occupation._
5. To produce a chemical compound from another substance through a reaction.
   - Simple: To make one chemical substance from another by using a reaction.
   - _Manufacturers derive aspirin from salicylic acid._
   - _Researchers derived the new plastic from plant-based starches._
6. To differentiate a function, finding its derivative. *(nonstandard)*
   - Simple: To find how quickly a math function changes at each point.
   - _To analyze the motion, physicists derive the position function with respect to time._
   - _She derived the function twice to obtain the acceleration._
7. To turn the course of water or a similar flow, diverting it and distributing it into smaller, subordinate channels.
   - Simple: To turn water or another flow aside and send it into smaller channels.
   - _Engineers derive the canal's flow into several irrigation ditches._
   - _The Romans derived mountain springs into the city's aqueducts._

## Origin

From Middle English deriven, from Old French deriver, from Latin dērīvō ("to draw off a liquid, derive"), formed from dē ("away") plus rīvus ("a stream"). It is unrelated to "arrive."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/derive (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).