in descriptive linguistics and traditional grammar, the formation of a word by changing the form of the base or by adding affixes to it. In this sense, derivation is also called word formation. In historical linguistics, the derivation of a word is its history and etymology. In generative grammar, derivation means a sequence of linguistic representations that indicate the structure of a sentence or other linguistic unit before, during, and after the application of some grammatical rule or set of rules.
DERIVATION
Meaning of DERIVATION in English
Britannica English vocabulary. Английский словарь Британика. 2012