3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Development  \De*vel"op*ment\,  n.  [Cf.  F.  d['e]veloppement.] 
  [Written  also  {developement}.] 
  1.  The  act  of  developing  or  disclosing  that  which  is  unknown; 
  a  gradual  unfolding  process  by  which  anything  is 
  developed,  as  a  plan  or  method,  or  an  image  upon  a 
  photographic  plate;  gradual  advancement  or  growth  through 
  a  series  of  progressive  changes;  also  the  result  of 
  developing,  or  a  developed  state. 
 
  A  new  development  of  imagination,  taste,  and  poetry. 
  --Channing. 
 
  2.  (Biol.)  The  series  of  changes  which  animal  and  vegetable 
  organisms  undergo  in  their  passage  from  the  embryonic 
  state  to  maturity,  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  state  of 
  organization. 
 
  3.  (Math.) 
  a  The  act  or  process  of  changing  or  expanding  an 
  expression  into  another  of  equivalent  value  or 
  meaning. 
  b  The  equivalent  expression  into  which  another  has  been 
  developed. 
 
  4.  (mus.)  The  elaboration  of  a  theme  or  subject;  the 
  unfolding  of  a  musical  idea;  the  evolution  of  a  whole 
  piece  or  movement  from  a  leading  theme  or  motive. 
 
  {Development  theory}  (Biol.),  the  doctrine  that  animals  and 
  plants  possess  the  power  of  passing  by  slow  and  successive 
  stages  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  state  of  organization,  and 
  that  all  the  higher  forms  of  life  now  in  existence  were 
  thus  developed  by  uniform  laws  from  lower  forms,  and  are 
  not  the  result  of  special  creative  acts  See  the  Note 
  under  {Darwinian}. 
 
  Syn:  Unfolding;  disclosure;  unraveling;  evolution; 
  elaboration;  growth. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  development 
  n  1:  act  of  improving  by  expanding  or  enlarging  or  refining;  "he 
  congratulated  them  on  their  development  of  a  plan  to 
  meet  the  emergency";  "they  funded  research  and 
  development" 
  2:  a  process  in  which  something  passes  by  degrees  to  a  more 
  advanced  or  mature  stage;  "the  development  of  his  ideas 
  took  many  years";  "the  evolution  of  Greek  civilization"; 
  "the  slow  development  of  her  skill  as  a  writer"  [syn:  {evolution}] 
  3:  the  act  of  making  some  area  of  land  or  water  more  profitable 
  or  productive  or  useful:  "the  development  of  Alaskan 
  resources";  "the  exploitation  of  copper  deposits"  [syn:  {exploitation}] 
  4:  a  recent  event  that  has  some  relevance  for  the  present 
  situation;  "recent  developments  in  Iraq";  "what  a 
  revolting  development!" 
  5:  a  district  that  has  been  developed  to  serve  some  purpose; 
  "such  land  is  practical  for  small  park  developments" 
  6:  a  state  in  which  things  are  improving;  the  result  of 
  developing;  "after  he  saw  the  latest  development  he 
  changed  his  mind  and  became  a  supporter";  "in  chess  your 
  should  take  care  of  your  development  before  moving  your 
  queen" 
  7:  the  process  of  an  individual  organism  growing  organically;  a 
  purely  biological  unfolding  of  events  involved  in  an 
  organism  changing  gradually  from  a  simple  to  a  more 
  complex  level;  "he  proposed  an  indicator  of  osseous 
  development  in  children"  [syn:  {growth},  {growing},  {maturation}, 
  {ontogeny},  {ontogenesis}]  [ant:  {nondevelopment}] 
  8:  processing  a  photosensitive  material  in  order  to  make  an 
  image  visible;  "the  development  and  printing  of  his 
  pictures  took  only  two  hours"  [syn:  {developing}] 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  development 
 
  The  process  of  analysis,  design,  coding  and  testing  software. 
 
 

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