noun

elaboration

ih-lab-uh-RAY-shun/ɪˌlæbəˈreɪʃn/

The process or result of developing something in greater detail.

The second drawing shows elaboration of the house with windows and garden details.

Two drawings side by side: simple house outline then same house with carefully added windows roofing and garden details.

Etymology

eLatinout

+laborLatinto work, exert oneself

+ationLatinaction or process

The underlying image is “working something out” through effort. This became working it out with exactness and detail, connecting labor with the addition of explanation or complexity.

In context

Libertarianism.org31:36

… it may require extensive elaboration in respects which it previously glossed over or ignored …

Revising Traditional Notions of Competition and Monopoly - The Turney Collection

More examples

The proposal needs further elaboration before we can approve it.
She offers an elaboration of the idea in the next chapter.
The architect's sketch is an elaboration of our original design.

Forms

elaboration · elaborations

elaborate verb — To develop or explain in greater detail.

Similar words

expansion: Expansion increases scope or size, not necessarily the detail.
amplification: Amplification adds detail or emphasis to strengthen a point.