Dictionary:

differential

  (dĭf'ə-rĕn'shəl)

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 amount of adjustment of the delivery location and grade of deliverables that a futures contract permits. Also known as "allowance. "

Investopedia Says:
Some futures contracts allow the short position to adjust the location of the delivery and/or the grade of commodity being delivered. The permitted differentials are set in relation to a central location or the par basis grade.

Related Links:
For those who are new to futures but want a solid understanding of them, this tutorial explains what futures contracts are, how they work and why investors use them. Futures Fundamentals

1. Banking. Refers to the 1⁄4 of 1% difference between deposit interest rates paid by commercial banks and rates paid by savings and loans. The rate differential on time deposit accounts, created in the 1960s to give thrift institutions a stable funding source for mortgage lending, was phased out in January 1984.

2. Finance. A broker's commission for handling small, odd-lot orders, which normally is higher than with regular orders.

Definition: distinctive
Antonyms: same, similar

n

Definition: difference
Antonyms: uniformity

For more information on differential, visit Britannica.com.

Exhibiting or depending on a difference.

• d. absorption — see differential absorption.
• d. cell count — see differential count.
• d. diagnosis — the differences between diseases in terms of clinical signs and epidemiological parameters; used as a basis for selecting as a diagnosis the one with the best fit to those seen in the subject.
• d. leukocyte count — see differential count.
• d. milk cell counts — count of cells in a milk sample including individual counts of somatic cells and individual leukocyte types.
• d. thromboplastin time — used in differentiating the cause of hemophilia. Reagents containing either factor VIII or factor IX are added in the partial thromboplastin time test to demonstrate which factor corrects the prolonged clotting time.

Tutor's tip: The "differential" (the amount of difference) in their test scores was small, but the loser was "deferential" (marked by courteous yielding or respect) to the winner anyway.

Differential may refer to:

Mathematics

• Differential (calculus), multiple related meanings in calculus and differential geometry, such as an infinitesimal change in the value of a function
• Differential (coboundary), in homological algebra and algebraic topology, one of the maps of a cochain complex
• Differential (cryptography), in differential cryptanalysis, a pair consisting of the difference, usually computed by XOR (exclusive or), between two plaintexts, and the difference of the corresponding ciphertexts

See also derivative, differential calculus.

Natural sciences and engineering

• Differential (mechanical device), a gear or similar device for allowing each of the driving wheels to rotate at different speeds
• Electronic Differential, a multi drive controller which substitutes its mechanical counterpart with significant advantages in electric vehicles application
• The result of a medical test using differential staining, such as the white blood cell differential
• In electronics differential signaling applies to a method of transmitting electronic signal over a pair of wired to improve noise immunity.

Social sciences

• Semantic and structural differentials in psychology
• A quality spread differential in finance
• Compensating differential in labor economics

Other uses

The word differential is also used in many fields as an adjective to refer to differences, particularly those of a variable or continuous nature. Examples include differential hardening in metallurgy, differential rotation in astronomy, differential centrifugation in cell biology, differential scanning calorimetry in materials science, differential signalling in communications, differential diagnosis in medicine, differential algebra in mathematics, differential execution in computer science, and differential GPS technology.

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - varierende, forskels-, differentiel, differentiale-, differential-
n. - forskel, lønforskel, renteforskel, differential, differentialfunktion

idioms:

• differential calculus    differentialregning
• differential equation    differentialligning
• differential gear    drabanthjul, differentiale

Nederlands (Dutch)
differentiaal, differentieel(-), loonklasseverschil

Français (French)
adj. - différentiel
n. - écart, (Math) différentielle, écart salarial, (Aut) différentiel

idioms:

• differential calculus    calcul différentiel
• differential equation    équation différentielle
• differential gear    engrenage différentiel

Deutsch (German)
n. - Differential, Wechselgetriebe, Differenz
adj. - unterscheidend, unterschiedlich, Differential-

idioms:

• differential calculus    Differentialrechnung
• differential equation    Differentialgleichung
• differential gear    Wechselgetriebe

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (μηχαν.) διαφορικό, μισθολογική διαφορά
adj. - διαφορικός

idioms:

• differential calculus    (μαθημ.) διαφορικός λογισμός
• differential equation    (μαθημ.) διαφορική εξίσωση
• differential gear    (μηχαν.) διαφορικό

Italiano (Italian)
differenziale

idioms:

• differential calculus    calcolo differenziale
• differential equation    equazione differenziale
• differential gear    differenziale

Português (Portuguese)
n. - diferencial (m)
adj. - diferencial

idioms:

• differential calculus    cálculo (m) diferencial
• differential equation    equação (f) diferencial
• differential gear    engrenagem (f) do diferencial

Русский (Russian)
дифференциал, дифференциальный

idioms:

• differential calculus    дифференциальное исчисление
• differential equation    дифференциальное уравнение
• differential gear    дифференциальная передача

Español (Spanish)
adj. - diferencial, constituyendo la diferencia
n. - diferencial, diferencia cuantitativa

idioms:

• differential calculus    cálculo diferencial
• differential equation    ecuación diferencial
• differential gear    diferencial

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - differentiering
adj. - differentiell

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
差别的, 微分的, 特定的, 差别, 差动齿轮, 微分

idioms:

• differential calculus    微分学
• differential equation    微分方程, 微分
• differential gear    差速齿轮

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 差別的, 微分的, 特定的
n. - 差別, 差動齒輪, 微分

idioms:

• differential calculus    微分學
• differential equation    微分方程, 微分
• differential gear    差速齒輪

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 독특한, 미분의, 차이의
n. - 미분, 운임 차이, 협정 임률차

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 差, 賃金格差, 微分
adj. - 相違を示す, 差別的な, 微分の, 特異な

idioms:

• differential calculus    微分学
• differential equation    微分方程式
• differential gear    差動装置

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الاختلاف بين كميتين من شئ وبخاصه النقود, التفاضل, التفاوت (صفه) تفاضلي, تبايني, تفاوتي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮שונה, נוגע להפרש קטן עד אין סוף (מתמטיקה), מהווה הבדל מסוים או קשור אליו‬
n. - ‮שוני, דיפרנציאל, הפרשיות, הבדל, הבדל קטן עד אין-סוף בין שני ערכים רצופים של משתנה‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.