differentiation

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a discrimination between things as different and distinct
  2. noun the mathematical process of obtaining the derivative of a function
  3. noun (biology) the structural adaptation of some body part for a particular function

Etymology

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”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

distinction

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