A coefficient is usually a constant quantity, but the differential coefficient of f is a constant function only if f is a linear function.

The older usage is now rarely seen.

Early editions of Silvanus P. Thompson's Calculus Made Easy use the older term. In his 1998 update of this text, Martin Gardner lets the first use of "differential coefficient" stand, along with Thompson's criticism of the term as a needlessly obscure phrase that should not intimidate students, and substitutes "derivative" for the remainder of the book.