Etymologically
Log in

developmental

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:43. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /dɪˌvɛləpˈmɛntəl/[1]

Etymology

It was formed from English development + -al in English.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to biological development, especially the development of an individual organism: 1830, in the Lancet.[2][5] Etymonline also gives 1830,[3] Merriam-Webster gives 1849 and the Shorter Oxford the mid 19th century.[6][4]

Semantic evolution

Medical writers soon applied it to disorders: from 1834, in a treatise on dentition, of a disease resulting from abnormal or delayed development, a use that later gave terms such as developmental delay.[2] The general sense, in the process of development or relating to the development of someone or something, is recorded from 1862.[2] The Shorter Oxford also records the senses "incidental to growth" and "evolutionary",[4] and Etymonline notes that developmentalist (1862) once meant a follower of the theory of evolution.[3] Merriam-Webster adds the senses "serving to develop", as of aid to poorer regions, and, more broadly, "experimental", as of a series of tests.[6]

Timeline

  • 1830 – relating to biological development.[2][3]
  • 1834 – of a disorder, resulting from abnormal or delayed development.[2]
  • 1849 – Merriam-Webster's first date.[6]
  • 1862 – in the process of development; relating to development generally.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Relating to the growth and development of a person or organism, especially from birth to maturity: the developmental stages of a frog.
  2. Of a disorder, arising from abnormal or delayed development.
  3. Intended to promote development, especially economic development: developmental aid.
  4. Still being developed; experimental: a developmental aircraft.

Word family

  • developmentally
  • developmentalist
  • nondevelopmental
  • postdevelopmental
  • developmental biology
  • developmental disability
  • developmental psychology

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster