Derivation

In ordinary terms to derive means to obtain something from some other thing. Students, for example students derive knowledge from reading. In language terms, the meaning is not different. You derive a word from another word by adding affixes (prefixes and suffices) to the word. The word UNKIND is derived from the word KIND. In other words, derivation is the process of forming a new word by adding affixes to a base. The original word is called a base or a root depending on whether the word on which you are adding your affix is considered a form that cannot be further divided morphologically or not. Exercises on derivation build not only students’ spelling ability but their vocabulary, and potentially, their pronunciation and grammar as well.