1. Of, relating to, or showing a difference.
2. Constituting or making a difference; distinctive.
3. Dependent on or making use of a specific difference or distinction.
4. Mathematics. Of or relating to differentiation.
5. Involving differences in speed or direction of motion.

1. Mathematics.
   1. An infinitesimal increment in a variable.
   2. The product of the derivative of a function containing one variable and the increment of the independent variable.
2. Differential gear.
3. A difference between comparable things, as in wage rate or in price.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.