derivatives
derivatives — noun
1. financial products, such as options or futures, whose worth rises or falls in li
financial products, such as options or futures, whose worth rises or falls in line with shares, bonds, or other assets they are tied to.
Yara warned her clients that derivatives can wipe out a portfolio in one bad week.
trade in derivatives — typical finance collocation
Many Hong Kong banks earn large fees by selling derivatives linked to gold prices.
derivatives linked to [underlying asset]
The new rules force traders to report every derivatives contract to the regulator.
Mateo lost most of his savings after betting on oil derivatives during the price crash.
After 2008, governments tried to bring complex derivatives under tighter control.
文法句型
trade in derivatives
derivatives market
用法筆記
Almost always plural. Subject of verbs like trade, sell, regulate; often modified by the underlying asset (oil derivatives, currency derivatives).
常見錯誤
2. things that have been made or grown out of an earlier thing, keeping a clear lin
things that have been made or grown out of an earlier thing, keeping a clear link to where they came from — for example, soap made from coconut oil, or a film series based on the original.
Padma's lab studies new derivatives of green tea that may help fight infection.
derivatives of [source material]
Most cheap perfumes are derivatives of just three or four flower oils.
The Star Wars derivatives, from spin-off films to novels, have earned billions of dollars.
Many modern paints are derivatives of petroleum and contain strong-smelling solvents.
Greta argues that hip-hop derivatives in pop music are often more inventive than the original songs.
- by-products
things produced as a side-result of making something else
- spin-offs
informal — newer things developed from an earlier work, especially in entertainment
- offshoots
broader — anything that has branched off from a main thing
- originals
things made first, not from anything earlier
文法句型
a derivative of X
derivatives of X
用法筆記
Frequently followed by of + the source noun. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense covers any product made from a base substance, while sense 1 is specifically a finance term.
3. in language study, new words built from an older base word by adding prefixes or
in language study, new words built from an older base word by adding prefixes or suffixes — for example, 'happiness' and 'unhappy' are built from 'happy'.
Eri's teacher asked the class to list five derivatives of the verb 'act', such as 'action' and 'actor'.
derivatives of [base word]
English has many Greek derivatives in science, including 'biology' and 'geography'.
Children often pick up new derivatives once they learn a base word like 'happy' or 'kind'.
Christopher explained that 'darkness' and 'darken' are derivatives of the simple adjective 'dark'.
- word-forms
broader — any related form, including inflections; derivatives specifically involve new word formation
- root words
the base form from which derivatives are built
文法句型
derivatives of [base word]
用法筆記
A linguistics term. Distinguish from sense 2: here the 'thing made from another' is always a word, formed by adding prefixes or suffixes to a base.
4. in advanced maths, the numbers or formulas that show how fast one quantity is ch
in advanced maths, the numbers or formulas that show how fast one quantity is changing compared with another — for example, how fast a car's speed rises as time goes on.
Amihan plotted the derivatives of the position curve to find the car's exact speed at each moment.
compute / plot derivatives of [function]
First-year engineering students spend weeks learning how to compute derivatives by hand.
The second derivatives in the equation tell us whether the curve is bending upward or downward.
Samir realised the problem was easier once he set the derivatives equal to zero.
- differential
closely related — refers to an infinitely small change rather than the rate itself
- rate of change
plain-English paraphrase used in introductory teaching
- integral
the inverse operation in calculus — undoes a derivative
文法句型
the derivative of f(x)
first / second derivative
用法筆記
A calculus term. Often modified by first / second / partial. Phrase 'take the derivative' is the standard verb collocation.
derivatives — adjective
1. borrowing so heavily from earlier work that the result feels stale and shows lit
borrowing so heavily from earlier work that the result feels stale and shows little fresh thought of its own.
Critics called Nellie's first novel charming but deeply derivative of the Brontë sisters.
derivative of [earlier work / author]
Kofi felt the band's new album was too derivative to win any major awards.
too derivative — typical complaint frame
The student film was technically polished but felt derivative from start to finish.
Gabriel hated being told his paintings looked derivative, since he had worked on them for years.
- unoriginal
plainer everyday word; lacks the critical bite of derivative
- imitative
neutral — describes copying without the negative tone of derivative
- second-hand
informal — ideas that have come from elsewhere rather than being one's own
- original
fresh, not copied from earlier work
- groundbreaking
stronger positive — opens new ground that did not exist before
文法句型
highly derivative
feel derivative
用法筆記
Usually negative in tone, especially in art and music reviews. Frequently followed by of + the earlier work it copies. Compare with sense 2, which is a neutral linguistics term.
常見錯誤
2. in language study, made from a base word by adding a prefix or suffix — for exam
in language study, made from a base word by adding a prefix or suffix — for example, the adjective 'kindly' is built from the simple word 'kind'.
Mathieu's textbook lists 'painter' as a derivative noun built from the verb 'paint'.
derivative noun / adjective / verb
Élise asked her teacher why 'unhappiness' counts as a derivative form rather than a new word.
Modern English has thousands of derivative adjectives ending in '-able', such as 'readable' and 'lovable'.
Anong's dictionary marks every derivative entry with the base word it grew out of.
- derived
near-equivalent in linguistics texts; sometimes preferred for clarity
文法句型
derivative form
derivative noun / adjective
用法筆記
A neutral linguistics label, not a critical judgement. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense applies to word-form structure, not artistic quality.