An archaic or alternative spelling of 'development,' meaning the process of growth, improvement, or the creation of a new building or project.
From French développement, this older English spelling reflects earlier phonetic spelling conventions before standardization occurred in the 19th-20th centuries.
French has 'développement' with two p's and two e's, and some English speakers kept that spelling longer than others—old real estate documents from 1800s Britain sometimes show 'developement' before 'development' won out!
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