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Develop
Definitions
- 1 To discover, find out; to uncover. archaic, impersonal, transitive
"‘The mystery which I cannot develop, may by that time be removed […].’"
- 2 come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes) wordnet
- 3 To change with a specific direction, progress. intransitive
"Let's see how things develop and then make our decision."
- 4 change the use of and make available or usable wordnet
- 5 To progress through a sequence of stages. ambitransitive
"Isabel developed from a tropical depression to a tropical storm to a hurricane. An embryo develops into a fetus and then into an infant."
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- 6 expand in the form of a series wordnet
- 7 To advance; to further; to promote the growth of. transitive
"We must develop our own resources to the utmost."
- 8 grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment wordnet
- 9 To create. transitive
"I need to develop a plan for the next three weeks."
- 10 cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development wordnet
- 11 To bring out images latent in photographic film. transitive
"Please develop this roll of film."
- 12 happen wordnet
- 13 To acquire something usually over a period of time. transitive
"I have been in England enough to develop a British accent."
- 14 be gradually disclosed or unfolded; become manifest wordnet
- 15 To place one's pieces actively. transitive
"I need to develop my white-square bishop."
- 16 elaborate by the unfolding of a musical idea and by the working out of the rhythmic and harmonic changes in the theme wordnet
- 17 To cause a ball to become more open and available to be played on later. Usually by moving it away from the cushion, or by opening a pack.
- 18 become technologically advanced wordnet
- 19 To change the form of (an algebraic expression, etc.) by executing certain indicated operations without changing the value.
- 20 grow emotionally or mature wordnet
- 21 gain through experience wordnet
- 22 create by training and teaching wordnet
- 23 elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses wordnet
- 24 move into a strategically more advantageous position wordnet
- 25 move one's pieces into strategically more advantageous positions wordnet
- 26 superimpose a three-dimensional surface on a plane without stretching, in geometry wordnet
- 27 generate gradually wordnet
- 28 work out wordnet
- 29 make something new, such as a product or a mental or artistic creation wordnet
- 30 make visible by means of chemical solutions wordnet
- 31 come into existence; take on form or shape wordnet
Etymology
Borrowed from French développer, from Middle French desveloper, from Old French desveloper, from des- + voloper, veloper, vloper (“to wrap, wrap up”) (compare Italian sviluppare, Old Italian alternative form goluppare (“to wrap”)) from Vulgar Latin *vloppō, *wloppō (“to wrap”) ultimately from Proto-Germanic *wrappaną, *wlappaną (“to wrap, roll up, turn, wind”), from Proto-Indo-European *werb- (“to turn, bend”) http://www.wordnik.com/words/envelop. Akin to Middle English wlappen (“to wrap, fold”) (Modern English lap (“to wrap, involve, fold”)), Middle English wrappen (“to wrap”), Middle Dutch lappen (“to wrap up, embrace”), dialectal Danish vravle (“to wind, twist”), Middle Low German wrempen (“to wrinkle, scrunch, distort”), Old English wearp (“warp”). The word acquired its modern meaning from the 17th-century belief that an egg contains the animal in miniature and matures by growing larger and shedding its envelopes.
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