derivative
[DERIVATIVE]
英 [dɪ'rɪvətɪv] 美 [dɪ'rɪvətɪv]
n.派生物；衍生字；导数 adj.派生的；(贬)非独创的；庸乏的
◉词源
“derivative”源自拉丁语“derivativus”，意为“衍生、派生”，由“de-”（从）和“rivus”（溪流）组成，字面意为“从溪流引出”。15世纪进入英语，最初指“从他物引出的事物”，后用于数学（导数）、语言（派生词）及金融（衍生品）等领域，形容源自他物的产物。
◉外刊例句
① 《The Financial Times》 (2025年8月10日)
The bank traded complex derivative products.
该银行交易复杂的衍生品。
② 《The New York Times》 (2024年11月15日)
Her novel felt derivative of earlier works.
她的小说感觉像是早期作品的派生品。
◉经典名著
① 《尤利西斯》（Ulysses） by James Joyce (1922)
His style was derivative, yet compelling.
他的风格是派生的，但引人入胜。
② 《美丽新世界》（Brave New World） by Aldous Huxley (1932)
Their ideas were derivative of older philosophies.
他们的思想是古老哲学的派生品。
◉ Usage Examples
(1) They spoke a derivative of the Malay language.
(2) The derivative of the step is the impulse.
(3) Progress in the studies on new derivative atomic spectrometry was reviewed.
(4) Derivative works are far more complicated.
(5) This is a derivative design of some famous designer.
(6) I found the novel thin and derivative.
(1) 他们说一种从马来语派生的语言。
(2) 阶梯的导数就是脉冲。
(3) 摘要本文评介了导数测量技术在原子光谱分析中的应用研究进展。
(4) 派生作品更加复杂。
(5) 这个设计蹈袭了某个著名设计师的作品。
(6) 我发现这部小说内容单薄庸俗。
◉ Usage Notes
Alert: shifting parts of speech! As a noun, a derivative is kind of financial agreement or deal. As an adjective, though, derivative describes something that borrows heavily from something else that came before it.
The economic meltdown of the last decade is due largely to the mismanagement of derivatives, which are deals based on the outcome of other deal. A movie plot might be described as derivative if it steals from another film — say, if it lifts the tornado, the witch, and the dancing scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz.
◉柯林斯词典
1. [N-COUNT 可数名词]派生物；衍生物 A derivative is something which has been developed or obtained from something else.
...a poppy-seed derivative similar to heroin...
类似海洛因的罂粟籽制剂
This isn't an entirely new car, but a new derivative of the Citroen XM.
这不是一款全新的车，而是雪铁龙XM系列的派生车型。
2. [ADJ-GRADED 能被表示程度的副词或介词词组修饰的形容词]模仿他人的；缺乏创意的 If you say that something is derivative, you are criticizing it because it is not new or original but has been developed from something else. [disapproval]
...their dull, derivative debut album...
他们沉闷乏味、缺乏创意的首张专辑
A lot of what you see in stand-up comedy today is very derivative.
如今人们看到的单人喜剧表演好多内容都是沿袭前人。