Latin ēvolvere means "to roll out or away"; Latin revolvere means "to roll back to a starting point"; and Latin dēvolvere means "to roll (something) down." In its earliest uses in the 15th century, …

Phrasal verb devolve something to someone (Definition of devolved from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

Devolve definition: to transfer or delegate (a duty, responsibility, etc.) to or upon another; pass on.. See examples of DEVOLVE used in a sentence.

4 meanings: 1. to pass or cause to pass to a successor or substitute, as duties, power, etc 2. law (of an estate, etc) to pass.... Click for more definitions.

1. To pass on or delegate to another: The senator devolved the duties of office upon a group of aides. 2. Archaic To cause to roll onward or downward.

devolve is a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin dēvolvere.

When things devolve, they deteriorate, degenerate, fall apart, go to the dogs, and generally end up worse. When a classroom gets loud and rowdy, a teacher might say the class has …

devolve sth to sb/sth Spending under these budget items must be devolved to local offices. The constitutional changes to devolve power to local authorities will go ahead.

Synonyms for DEVOLVED: deteriorated, descended, crumbled, worsened, declined, degenerated, diminished, atrophied; Antonyms of DEVOLVED: improved, upgraded, …

Community leaders hope that the new government will devolve more power to/on/upon the community itself. Responsibility has devolved to/upon the individual teachers.