improvement

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman emprouwement; synchronically improve + -ment.

noun

1. The act of improving; advancement or growth; a bettering
   November 9, 1662, Robert South, Of the Creation of Man in the Image of God I look upon your city as […] the best place of improvement.
   Exercise is the chief source of improvement in all our faculties. 1783, Hugh Blair, Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres
   Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.[…]Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today. 2013-06-22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70
2. The act of making profitable use or application of anything, or the state of being profitably employed; practical application, for example of a doctrine, principle, or theory, stated in a discourse.
   good improvement of his reason. 1705, Samuel Clarke, Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion
   I shall make some improvement of this doctrine. 1681, John Tillotson, A sermon preached at the funeral of the Reverend Mr Thomas Gouge
3. The state of being improved; betterment; advance
4. Something which is improved
   the new edition is an improvement on the old.
5. Increase; growth; progress; advance.
6. (in the plural) Valuable additions or betterments, for example buildings, clearings, drains, fences, etc., on premises.
7. (Patent Laws): A useful addition to, or modification of, a machine, manufacture, or composition.