Nearby Words

devolve

[dih-volv] Example Sentences Origin

de·volve

[dih-volv] verb, -volved, -volv·ing.
verb (used with object)
1.
to transfer or delegate (a duty, responsibility, etc.) to or upon another; pass on.
2.
Obsolete. to cause to roll downward.
verb (used without object)
3.
to be transferred or passed on from one to another: The responsibility devolved on me.
4.
Archaic. to roll or flow downward.

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Devolve is one of our favorite verbs.
So is fletcherise. Does it mean:
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
to run away hurriedly; flee.

Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English devolven < Latin dēvolvere to roll down, equivalent to dē- de- + volvere to roll

de·volve·ment, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Example Sentences
  • Consider among the theater's vagaries how a show can devolve into a shadow of.
  • The problem here is that internal hires can often devolve into what amounts to as a veneered form of cronyism.
  • Woit argues, science would devolve into little more than medieval disputations about angels and heads of pins.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
devolve (dɪˈvɒlv)
 
vb (foll by on, upon, to, etc)
1.  to pass or cause to pass to a successor or substitute, as duties, power, etc
2.  (intr; foll by on or upon) law (of an estate, etc) to pass to another by operation of law, esp on intestacy or bankruptcy
3.  (intr; foll by on or upon) to depend (on): your argument devolves on how you interpret this clause
4.  archaic to roll down or cause to roll down
 
[C15: from Latin dēvolvere to roll down, fall into, from de- + volvere to roll]
 
de'volvement
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

devolve
c.1420, from L. devolvere "to roll down," from de- + volvere "to roll" (see vulva).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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