[dev-uh-loo-shuh n or, esp. British, dee-vuh-]
- the act or fact of devolving; passage onward from stage to stage.
- the passing on to a successor of an unexercised right.
- Law. the passing of property from one to another, as by hereditary succession.
- Biology. degeneration.
- the transfer of power or authority from a central government to a local government.
Origin of devolution
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for devolution
Kristol et al may long for such a devolution, but polls suggest that the majority of Americans do not.Tom Cotton’s Run for Senate in Arkansas Makes Him the New Neocon Darling
August 9, 2013
There is no possibility of devolution here; it cannot delegate its functions to this faculty or to that.Lux Mundi
The method of division shows a devolution of responsibility.Expositor's Bible: Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther
It stands for evolution rather than for devolution or revolution.The Joyful Heart
Robert Haven Schauffler
Plans of devolution and Grand Committees will fail to cope with this evil.Handbook of Home Rule (1887)
W. E. Gladstone et al.
Devolution is quite as natural as evolution, and may be just as pleasing, or even a good deal more pleasing, to God.In Defense of Women
H. L. Mencken
- the act, fact, or result of devolving
- a passing onwards or downwards from one stage to another
- another word for degeneration (def. 3)
- a transfer or allocation of authority, esp from a central government to regional governments or particular interests
C16: from Medieval Latin dēvolūtiō a rolling down, from Latin dēvolvere to roll down, sink into; see devolve
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for devolution
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper