derivationnoun [ C or U ]
uk/ˌder.ɪˈveɪ.ʃən/us/ˌder.əˈveɪ.ʃən/the origin of something, such as a word, from which another form has developed, or the new form itself
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Origins and sources
- be a recipe for disaster, trouble, success, etc. idiom
- beginning
- birthplace
- born
- breeding ground
- come from somewhere/sth
- fount
- genesis
- hail from somewhere
- issue
- issue from sth
- origin
- root
- seed
- son
- source
- stem
- stem from sth
- the cradle of sth idiom
- ur-
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Examples from literature
- In these words, as in many others, we can see that it is never safe to guess the derivation of words.
- It is interesting to note that derivations that get away sufficiently from the concrete notion of the radical word to exist as independent conceptual centers are not affected by this elusive drift.
- It is quite erroneously called Late-wake, though Brand favours that modern corruption and derivation.
- The derivation of his name shows unmistakably that the earliest form under which he was a mythological existence was as the light-god.