Devolution - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

dev·o·lu·tion

Audio Help [dev-uh-loo-shuh

n or, especially Brit., dee-vuh-] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	the act or fact of devolving; passage onward from stage to stage.

2.	the passing on to a successor of an unexercised right.

3.	Law. the passing of property from one to another, as by hereditary succession.

4.	Biology. degeneration.

5.	the transfer of power or authority from a central government to a local government.

[Origin: 1535–45; (< MF) < ML dévolūtiōn- (s. of dévolūtiō) a rolling down, equiv. to L dévolūt(us) rolled down (ptp. of dévolvere; see devolve) + -iōn- -ion

]

—Related forms

dev·o·lu·tion·ar·y, adjective, noun

dev·o·lu·tion·ist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Devolution

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

dev·o·lu·tion Audio Help (děv'ə-lōō'shən, dē'və-) Pronunciation Key
n.

A passing down or descent through successive stages of time or a process.
Transference, as of rights or qualities, to a successor.
Delegation of authority or duties to a subordinate or substitute.
A transfer of powers from a central government to local units.
Biology Degeneration.

[Late Latin dēvolūtiō, dēvolūtiōn-, from Latin dēvolūtus, past participle of dēvolvere, to roll down, fall to; see devolve.]

dev'o·lu'tion·ar'y (-shə-něr'ē) adj., dev'o·lu'tion·ist n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
devolution

1545, from de- + (e)volution. Used in various legal and fig. senses; in biology, as the opposite of evolution, it is attested from 1882.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

devolution
noun
1.	the process of declining from a higher to a lower level of effective power or vitality or essential quality [syn: degeneration] [ant: development]
2.	the delegation of authority (especially from a central to a regional government)

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: de·vo·lu·tion
Pronunciation: "de-v&-'lü-sh&n, "dE-
Function: noun
: the transfer (as of rights, powers, property,or responsibility) to another

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Devolution

Dev`o*lu"tion\, n. [LL. devolutio: cf. F. d['e]volution.]

1. The act of rolling down. [R.]

The devolution of earth down upon the valleys. --Woodward.

2. Transference from one person to another; a passing or devolving upon a successor.

The devolution of the crown through a . . . channel known and conformable to old constitutional requisitions. --De Quincey.

On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

devolution

devolution: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary

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