Etymology of derivation

[Arun Isaac]

Hi Guix,

I am translating Guix to the Tamil language. Tamil doesn't yet have a
very standardized technical vocabulary, and I mostly coin terms on my
own. Most often, I construct calques of existing English words, and it
sounds alright. But, I'm having trouble with the word "derivation" (as
in Guix's low-level build actions). I haven't seen the word "derivation"
used anywhere outside of Guix. Why is a "low-level build action" called
a "derivation"? If someone could clarify the etymology, it might really
help with good translation.

Thanks!

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