Meaning

noun a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage)

noun (biology) the sequence of events involved in the evolutionary development of a species or taxonomic group of organisms

originBorrowed from Latin ēvolūtiō, ēvolūtiōnis (“the act of unrolling, unfolding or opening (of a book)”), from ēvolūtus, perfect passive participle of ēvolvō (“unroll, unfold”), from ex + volvō (“roll”). Compare typologically Czech vývoj, Serbo-Croatian развој, Russian разви́ть (razvítʹ), развива́ть (razvivátʹ), разви́ться (razvítʹsja), развива́ться (razvivátʹsja), Russian разви́тие (razvítije),…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0