Link Centre Dictionary

differentiation

dif·fe·ren·tiation

UK/dɪf.əˌɹɛn.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/ US/ˌdɪf.əˌɹɛn.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/ fairly common

noun

1.

a discrimination between things as different and distinct

  • “it is necessary to make a distinction between love and infatuation”
Synonyms
2.

the mathematical process of obtaining the derivative of a function

3.

(biology) the structural adaptation of some body part for a particular function

  • “cell differentiation in the developing embryo”

Origin

From differentiate + -ion, from different + -iate, from differ + -ent, from Middle English differen, from Old French differer, from Latin differō (“carry apart, put off, defer; differ”), from dis- (“apart”) + ferō (“carry, bear”); cognate with Ancient Greek διαφέρω (diaphérō, “to differ”).

Phrases

  • automatic differentiation
  • cellular differentiation
  • cluster of differentiation
  • differentiation syndrome
  • evolutionary differentiation
  • planetary differentiation
  • product differentiation
  • semantic differentiation

Related words

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.