–Derive from | Image by freepik
Context
Sky News"Science Fair: The Series," premiering on National Geographic on December 10 and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu the next day, highlights the global pre-college competition, ISEF. Directed by Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster, this engaging documentary series profiles 15 ambitious teens competing for ISEF's 2,000 spots, from a pool of over 30 million students worldwide. It showcases innovative projects like Memory from Zimbabwe's eco-friendly fuel derived from reeds, aiming to celebrate scientific inquiry and make science fairs an accessible, enjoyable platform for young explorers.
Explanations and Usages
The phrase “derive from” is a useful way to explain the origin or source of something. Imagine you’re trying to find out where something comes from, whether it’s a word, an idea, or a material object. Using “derive from” is like tracing back to its roots or starting point, almost like looking up your family tree but for things other than people.
For example, when we talk about where words come from, we often say they “derive from” other languages. This means that these words started in languages like Latin or Greek and evolved over time to become the words we use in English today. Take the word “television”; it derives from two Greek words: “tele,” meaning far, and “vision,” meaning sight. So, “derive from” helps us connect modern words to their ancient origins.
Similarly, the phrase “derive from” can explain the origins of ideas or customs. Many traditions we observe today, especially during holidays, have their origins in ancient celebrations. By saying these traditions “derive from” those ancient practices, we acknowledge the long history behind our modern festivities, showing a connection between past and present.
Lastly, “derive from” is also used to describe how materials or substances are sourced. For instance, the plastic in water bottles might “derive from” petroleum. This means that petroleum, a natural resource, is the base material used to make the plastic. Here, “derive from” helps us understand the process of turning raw materials into the products we use every day.
Examples
Modern teaching methods often derive from educational psychology research.
- The progressive educational frameworks seen in institutions like Montessori schools and STEM-based programs derive from a synthesis of Maria Montessori’s child-centered approaches and the latest in digital technology research, showcasing the dynamic evolution of teaching methods from historical foundations to current innovations.
–Education
- About 20 percent of their total income derives from two rental properties they own in Atlanta.
- When calculating its data centers’ eco-friendliness, Google counts electricity derived from nuclear plants as clean energy, making its Southeast centers appear greener than those in Texas’ energy sector.
–Business
- OpenAI’s Copilot tool often recommends code snippets created by individuals, and its knowledge base is derived from open-source contributions that are meant to benefit individuals rather than corporations.
Tencent’s move marks the Chinese social media and gaming giant’s latest effort to derive half of its games revenue from overseas.
–Technology
- Deep learning models derive their powerful decision-making ability from deep neural networks, the closest computer simulations we have to the human brain.
- Climate warming dramatically alters how energy circulates through food webs, leading to a shift where animals, historically reliant on plant-based sources, now depend on food webs that derive from fungal activities linked to belowground decomposition.
–Science
- The very essence of alcoholic beverages lies in the plants from which they derive – be it grapes, apples, juniper berries, coconuts, oranges, hops or malt.
- During the early 20th century, producers of food and beverages began using sweeteners derived from both natural ingredients and chemical methods. These sweeteners are designed to satisfy sweet cravings while offering substantially fewer calories than natural sugars, and sometimes, they contain no calories at all.
–Arts and Culture
