Derival

Derival is a neologism that appears in a small range of mathematical, linguistic, and computational writings to denote concepts related to derivation or derivative-like change. It is not a standardized term in major reference works, and its precise meaning varies with context. In general, derival is formed from the root derive and the -al suffix to indicate something pertaining to derivation or to a derivative form.

In mathematics, derival has been used by some authors to label derivative-like constructions—operators or objects that assign a rate of change or a family of related quantities to a function or sequence. These usages often appear in expository or exploratory contexts, such as discussions of generalized derivatives, differential operators on unusual domains, or pedagogical treatments of how change is formalized. Because the term is not widely standardized, specific definitions should be taken from the source in which they appear.

In linguistics, derival may refer to the derivational process that creates new words from a base form, or to the derived lexical items themselves. However, this usage is uncommon in mainstream morphology, where derivation and derivational morphology are the standard terms. When derival is encountered in linguistic text, it typically requires checking the author’s own definition to determine whether it denotes a process, a product, or a theoretical notion of derivation.

In computing and data science, derival is sometimes used informally to describe deriving new data, artifacts, or code from a specification, or to describe derivation trees and derivative data products. Because derival lacks a single, accepted definition, readers should rely on the explicit definitions provided by the author and consider the term in its given context. See also derivative, derivation, derivate, and derivational morphology.