ˌmēlyəˈrāshən, -lēə- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Late Latin melioration-, melioratio, from melioratus + Latin -ion-, -io -ion
: the quality or state of being meliorated or an act of meliorating : betterment: as
a. : lasting or major improvement of land (as by a tenant)
the effect of meliorations was greater on height growth of fir and on soil flora and condition — Biological Abstracts
b. : the historical process by which the semantic and connotative status of a word tends to rise
the emergence of steward from sty-ward is an example of melioration in action
— compare pejoration