dériver
to drift
verb deh-ree-VEH Rare
Origin: From Latin 'derivare' (to divert water from a stream)
Also means
to derive (from)
Usage Note
Dériver covers both physical drift (a boat drifting off course) and linguistic/conceptual origin: ce mot dérive du latin ('this word derives from Latin'). The related noun dérive means 'drift' or 'deviation'; partir à la dérive is the idiom for going off the rails.
Examples
"Le bateau a dérivé loin du port."
Natural Translation
The boat drifted far from the port.

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