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derive

/dɪˈraɪv/·verb

to obtain something from a source; to arise or develop from an origin
Fig. 1 — A spile is tapped into the flank of a big maple, and after a breath the first bead swells at its lip and drops — tik — into the pail hung below.
01Definition

To derive is to draw something out of a source so that the result still carries the mark of where it came from — a benefit, a meaning, a substance, a conclusion. You derive energy from food, income from a business, a word from Latin, satisfaction from work. The root is Latin rivus, a stream, and the picture is exactly that: a channel cut so that something flows from a larger body into your keeping. In a second, quieter sense a thing derives from an origin — descends from it — as modern languages derive from older ones. The preposition from is very nearly obligatory.

02In use
  • iScientists derive the age of a rock from the slow decay of the elements locked inside it.
  • iiShe derives real pleasure from teaching, long after the salary stopped mattering.
  • iiiA great deal of everyday English vocabulary derives from Norman French.
03Collocations
  • derive from
  • derive pleasure from
  • derive a benefit
  • derive meaning from
  • be derived from Latin

Family derivation (noun) · derivative (noun, adjective) · derived (adjective)

04Relations

=obtain, gather, extract, infer, glean

06TOEFL & IELTS

A quietly formal verb TOEFL and IELTS reward when the point is where something comes from. It carries two exam-useful senses: the STEM 'derive a formula/value from data' and the humanities 'derive a term from Latin', plus the collocation 'derive benefit/pleasure/satisfaction from'. The near-fixed preposition is from — 'derived from', not 'derived of'. Watch the noun split: derivation is the process of deriving, while a derivative is the thing derived (a word, a compound, a financial instrument).

07Asked
What does derive mean?
To derive is to obtain something from a source, so that the result carries the mark of its origin — you derive energy from food, a conclusion from evidence, a word from Latin. In the scene above, sap drawn from a tapped maple is the picture exactly: something flows out of a larger source into your keeping. A second sense means to arise from: modern languages derive from older ones.
Is it 'derive from' or 'derive of'?
Almost always derive from. The source takes from: 'the word derives from Latin', 'she derives comfort from routine', 'income derived from investments'. 'Derive of' is not standard English. The one nearby form is the passive 'be derived from' ('penicillin is derived from a mould'), which keeps the same preposition. If you are naming where something came from, the word after derive is from.
What is the noun form of derive?
Two, and they split by process versus product. Derivation is the act of deriving — 'the derivation of the formula', 'its derivation from Greek'. A derivative is the thing that results — most often a word built from another, like happiness from happy or quickly from quick. In student writing derivative is much the commoner of the two, and it keeps derive's second-syllable stress while shortening the vowel: dih-RIV-uh-tiv.
How do you pronounce derive?
dih-RYVE, /dɪˈraɪv/, with the stress on the second syllable and the i saying its long name, as in five. British and American English agree. The noun derivative keeps the stress on that second syllable — dih-RIV-uh-tiv — but shortens the vowel from a long 'eye' to a short 'i', which is the change learners most often miss.
Where does the word derive come from?
From Latin derivare, 'to lead off or draw off water', built from de- ('from') and rivus ('a stream') — the same rivus behind rival, who originally shared a stream. So the word's own history is a channel cut to carry water off a river, which is the image the modern meaning keeps: something drawn from a larger source along a made path.
What does 'derive pleasure from' mean?
It means to get enjoyment out of something — a slightly formal way of saying it. The pattern is derive + a feeling + from: derive pleasure, satisfaction, comfort, or benefit from an activity. It frames the feeling as something drawn out of the experience, the way the pail below the maple fills from the tree. 'She derives great satisfaction from her garden' is warmer and more considered than 'she enjoys her garden'.
What is the difference between derive and deduce?
Derive is to draw something from a source; deduce is to reason your way to a conclusion. You derive a value from data or a word from Latin — the result flows out of the source. You deduce the culprit from the clues — the result is reached by logic. They overlap when the 'source' is evidence, but derive stresses the channel from an origin, deduce the step of reasoning.