Developmental

How to spell developmental

13 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce developmental

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does developmental mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to the process of growth, progress, or gradual advancement, especially in a person, organisation, or project.

Developmental in a sentence

• The clinic screens toddlers for early developmental delays.

• The charity funds developmental programmes in rural regions.

Where does developmental come from?

Language of origin: French

This word traces back to the Old French verb desveloper, meaning 'to unwrap' or 'to unfold', built from the prefix des- (indicating reversal) and a root veloper meaning 'to wrap up', whose deeper origin is uncertain but may connect to a Romance word for a husk or covering. English borrowed 'develop' in the seventeenth century, first in the literal sense of unfolding or unrolling something, and only later in the figurative sense of gradually growing, advancing, or bringing something to a fuller state. The noun 'development' was formed by adding the suffix -ment, and the adjective 'developmental' followed by stacking on -al, so the spelling layers four pieces in sequence. The trap for adults is the unstressed middle vowels: the second 'e' in 'develop' is a soft schwa easily lost, and the -ment- joint sits quietly before -al. A useful memory hook is that the word keeps the full 'development' intact and simply adds -al, with no doubling and no dropped letters.

How the word is built

• de- (reversal/away)
• velop (root from Old French veloper: to wrap up)
• -ment (noun suffix)
• -al (adjective suffix)