derivative

9 definitions • 12 examples

If something is derivative, it is not the result of new ideas, but has been developed from or copies something else:

His painting/style is very derivative.

a form of something made or developed from another form:

derivative of This is a derivative of seaweed that is currently used as a food additive.

a word developed from another word:

derivative of "Detestable" is a derivative of "detest".

a financial product such as an option (= the right to buy or sell something in the future) that has a value based on the value of another product, such as shares or bonds:

The company became the leading marketplace for foreign exchange derivatives.

Brokers predict the derivatives market will continue expanding at a fast pace.

in calculus (= an area of advanced mathematics in which continuously changing values are studied), a measure of the rate at which a function is changing:

derivative of The derivative of the position of a moving object with respect to time is the object's velocity.

Find the derivative of the function f(x) = (x2 - 5) (x3 - 2x + 3).

having qualities taken from something else:

Too much of the music feels derivative.

something made from something else:

Retinol is a derivative of vitamin A.

A derivative is also a word that is made from another word.

a financial product such as an option (= the right to buy or sell something in the future) that has a value based on the value of another asset, such as shares, or bonds:

GS Financial Products buys and sells derivatives such as swaps and options linked to interest rates, currencies, commodities and indexes.

derivatives trading

In the past 20 years there has been a huge growth in the derivatives markets.