De*riv"a*tive (?), a. [L. derivativus: cf. F. d'erivatif.]
Obtained by derivation; derived; not radical, original, or fundamental; originating, deduced, or formed from something else; secondary; as, a derivative conveyance; a derivative word.
Derivative circulation, a modification of the circulation found in some parts of the body, in which the arteries empty directly into the veins without the interposition of capillaries.
Flint.
-- De*riv"a*tive*ly, adv. -- De*riv"a*tive*ness, n.
© Webster 1913.
De*riv"a*tive, n.
1.
That which is derived; anything obtained or deduced from another.
2. Gram.
A word formed from another word, by a prefix or suffix, an internal modification, or some other change; a word which takes its origin from a root.
3. Mus.
A chord, not fundamental, but obtained from another by inversion; or, vice versa, a ground tone or root implied in its harmonics in an actual chord.
4. Med.
An agent which is adapted to produce a derivation (in the medical sense).
5. Math.
A derived function; a function obtained from a given function by a certain algebraic process.
⇒ Except in the mode of derivation the derivative is the same as the differential coefficient. See Differential coefficient, under Differential.
6. Chem.
A substance so related to another substance by modification or partial substitution as to be regarded as derived from it; thus, the amido compounds are derivatives of ammonia, and the hydrocarbons are derivatives of methane, benzene, etc.
© Webster 1913.