development

Etymology

From French développement, from Old French desvelopemens (“unrolling”). By surface analysis, develop + -ment. First attested in 1756.

noun

1. (uncountable) The process of developing; growth, directed change.
   The development of this story has been slow.
   Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found. 2013-07-19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34
2. (uncountable, biology) The process by which a mature multicellular organism or part of an organism is produced by the addition of new cells.
   The organism has reached a crucial stage in its development.
3. (countable) Something which has developed.
   Our news team brings you the latest developments.
4. (real estate, countable) A project consisting of one or more commercial or residential buildings.
5. (real estate, uncountable) The building of such a project.
6. (uncountable) The application of new ideas to practical problems (cf. research).
   Our development department has produced three new adhesives this year.
7. (chess, uncountable) The active placement of the pieces, or the process of achieving it.
   White's development is good, but black's has been hampered by the pawn on e5.
8. (music) The process by in which previous material is transformed and restated.
9. (music) The second section of a piece of music in sonata form, in which the original theme is revisited in altered and varying form.
10. (mathematics) The expression of a function in the form of a series.