differentiate
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From New Latin *differentiatus, past participle of differentiare, from Latin differentia (“difference”); see difference.
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
differentiate (third-person singular simple present differentiates, present participle differentiating, simple past and past participle differentiated)
- (transitive) To show, or be the distinction between two things.
- Earle
- The word "then" was differentiated into the two forms "then" and "than".
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1933, George Orwell, “Ch. XXII”, in Down and Out in Paris and London, Harvest / Harcourt paperback edition, page 120:
- The mass of the rich and poor are differentiated by their incomes and nothing else, and the average millionaire is only the average dishwasher dressed in a new suit.
- Earle
- (intransitive) To perceive the difference between things; to discriminate.
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1964, New York Times v. Sullivan:
- he refused to instruct that actual intent to harm or recklessness had to be found before punitive damages could be awarded, or that a verdict for respondent should differentiate between compensatory and punitive damages.
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- (transitive, intransitive) To modify, or be modified.
- (transitive, mathematics) To calculate the derivative of a function.
- (transitive, mathematics) To calculate the differential of a function of multiple variables.
- (intransitive, biology) To produce distinct organs or to achieve specific functions by a process of development called differentiation.
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1930, Robert Evans Snodgrass, Insects: Their Ways and Means of Living:
- In Chapter IV we learned that every animal consists of a body, or soma, formed of cells that are differentiated from the germ cells usually at an early stage of development.
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Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
to show or be the distinction
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to perceive the difference
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to modify, be modified
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math: to calculate the derivative
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math: to calculate the differential
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biology: to produce distinct organs or to achieve specific functions
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External links[edit]
- differentiate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- differentiate in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
