derivative  early 15c. (adj.); mid-15c. (n.), from M.Fr. dérivatif (15c.), from L.L. derivativus, from pp. stem of L. derivare (see derive).  Mathematical sense is from 1670s. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=derivative 

A derivative instrument is a contract between two parties that specifies conditions (especially the dates, resulting values of the underlying variables, and notional amounts) under which payments are to be made between the parties.  Under US law and the laws of most other developed countries, derivatives have special legal exemptions that make them a particularly attractive legal form to extend credit.  However, the strong creditor protections afforded to derivatives counterparties, in combination with their complexity and lack of transparency, can cause capital markets to underprice credit risk.  This can contribute to credit booms, and increase systemic risks.  Indeed, the use of derivatives to mask credit risk from third parties while protecting derivative counterparties contributed to the financial crisis of 2008 in the United States.    Financial reforms within the US since the financial crisis have served only to reinforce special protections for derivatives, including greater access to government guarantees, while minimizing disclosure to broader financial markets.  One of the oldest derivatives is rice futures, which have been traded on the Dojima Rice Exchange since the eighteenth century.  Derivatives are broadly categorized by the relationship between the underlying asset and the derivative (such as forward, option, swap); the type of underlying asset (such as equity derivatives, foreign exchange derivatives, interest rate derivatives, commodity derivatives, or credit derivatives); the market in which they trade (such as exchange-traded or over-the-counter); and their pay-off profile.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivative_(finance)

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) (often called "the Chicago Merc," or "the Merc") is an American financial and commodity derivative exchange based in Chicago and located at 20 S. Wacker Drive.  The CME was founded in 1898 as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board, an agricultural commodities exchange.  Originally, the exchange was a non-profit organization. The Merc demutualized in November 2000, went public in December 2002, and merged with the Chicago Board of Trade in July 2007 to become a designated contract market of the CME Group Inc., which operates both markets.  On August 18, 2008, shareholders approved a merger with the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The Merc, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX are now markets owned by the CME Group.  Today, the Merc trades several types of financial instruments: interest rates, equities, currencies, and commodities.  It also offers trading in alternative investments, such as weather and real estate derivatives, and has the largest options and futures contracts open interest (number of contracts outstanding) of any futures exchange in the world.  As a Designated Self-Regulatory Organization (DSRO), the CME had primary regulatory-audit authority over firms such as MF Global.  CME also pioneered the CME SPAN software that is used around the world as the official performance bond (margin) mechanism of 50 registered exchanges, clearing organizations, service bureaus and regulatory agencies throughout the world.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivative_(finance)

monish  (MON-ish)  verb tr:  To warn; to admonish. 

From Old French amonester (to warn, to urge), from Latin monere (to warn).  Ultimately from the Indo-European root men- (to think) which is the source of mind, mnemonic, mosaic, music, mentor, money, mandarin, and Sanskrit mantra.  Earliest documented use:  before 1382. 

suasion  (SWAY-zhuhn)  noun:  The act of urging: persuasion.  (Often used in the phrase 'moral suasion')  From Latin suadere (to advise).  Ultimately from the Indo-European root swad- (sweet, pleasant), which also gave us sweet, suave, hedonism, persuade, and Hindi swad (taste).  Earliest documented use:  1374.

versal  (VUHR-suhl)  adjective:  Universal; whole.

Shortening of universal, from Latin universum (universe).  Ultimately from the Indo-European root wer- (to turn or bend), also the source of wring, weird, writhe, worth, revert, universe, verso, versicolor, and animadvert.  Earliest documented use:  1590s, in Romeo & Juliet.

complice  (KOM-plis)  noun:  An associate; accomplice.

Via French from Latin com- (with) + plicare (to fold).  Ultimately from the Indo-European root plek- (to plait), which is also the source of plait, pleat, pliant, ply, apply, deploy, display, exploit, replicate, and perplex.  Earliest documented use:  1475.

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From:  Liz Juniper  Subject:  Back-formations

Gen Y (and younger) are fond of using the back-formation "verse" as in "Who is our team versing this week?"  (in sport) -- back-formation of "versus". It hurts my ears... but I suppose I have to get used to it.

From:  Monroe Thomas Clewis  Subject:  Way back

In the "Is there no limit?" category, "back-formation" has its own back-formation, "back-form" which brings to mind this nursery rhyme: 

Big fleas have little fleas, Upon their backs to bite 'em,
And little fleas have lesser fleas, And so, ad infinitum.  (The Siphonaptera)

From:  Jan Manyfeathers  Subject:  back-formation
Our local radio station has just announced that parents must registrate their kids for summer sports camp by the end of the week.  I bet a week does not go by that I don't hear someone saying they want to just conversate with so-and-so, and the other word that gets so much abuse around here, funeralize.  "When they gonna funeralize him?"  "He gone be funeralized Friday." We call it word morphing here.  

By a 5-4 vote, the U.S. S.C. held the Affordable Care Act's  mandate requiring Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty valid under Congress's constitutional authority to levy taxes.  The financial penalty for failing to carry insurance possesses "the essential feature of any tax," producing revenue for the government, Chief Justice Roberts wrote.  The ruling means that the law's reordering of the $2.7 trillion health industry will move forward mostly as planned, with implications affecting every hospital, doctor, health insurer and drug maker in the nation.  About 30 million more Americans are expected to gain coverage, although the Medicaid change could lower that.  Companies said they were relieved to have a greater degree of certainty about what's in store, and some welcomed the influx of new customers the insurance mandate will provide.  Others pointed to concerns, including the complexity of the law and the remaining questions about Medicaid.  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304898704577480371370927862.html

The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act shifts the focus from whether sweeping changes to the health insurance market should take place to a scramble to meet the law’s rapidly approaching deadlines.  A number of largely Republican-led states that gambled on delay now face the unsettling prospect that the federal government could take over their responsibilities, particularly in setting up the health insurance marketplaces known as exchanges, where people will be able to choose among policies for their coverage.  Under the law, which the court upheld in its entirety by a 5-to-4 vote, individuals must be able to buy insurance coverage through the new state exchanges by Jan. 1, 2014.  But a more immediate deadline is less than six months away, on Jan. 1, 2013, when states must demonstrate to the Department of Health and Human Services that the exchanges will be operational the next year.  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/us/states-face-a-challenge-to-hit-laws-deadlines.html?_r=1&hp 

Broccoli is mentioned 12 times in the June 28 health care decision of the U.S.S.C.  See all mentions at:  http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/06/28/is-broccoli-overexposed/