What is English Derivation?

by Babylyn
(Las Piñas City, Metro Manila, Philippines)

Dear Latin teacher,

Can I ask what is Derivation? I mean, English Derivation? And can you please give some examples for that. I just need more info about that because I am tasked to report that this week.

Thank you for Your help!


Hi Babylyn,

English derivation means tracing the a modern English word back to its origin, often in another language such as Latin.

On this website I often answer questions from visitors about the derivation of specific English words.

See this list of Latin roots to learn more. Each Latin word has sometimes more than a dozen English words derived from it.

The word derivation itself can be traced back to the Latin word rivus, meaning a stream. Think of a word as having a source in the same way as the water from a river has its source.

Hope this helps, and thanks for asking a Latin teacher.

Sincerely,

John

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