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devolution

Syllabification: (dev·o·lu·tion)
Pronunciation: /ˌdevəˈlo͞oSHən/
Translate devolution | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of devolution

noun

  • the transfer or delegation of power to a lower level, especially by central government to local or regional administration.
  • formal descent or degeneration to a lower or worse state:the devolution of the gentlemanly ideal into a glorification of drunkenness
  • Law the legal transfer of property from one owner to another.
  • Biology evolutionary degeneration.

Derivatives

devolutionary

Pronunciation: /-ˌnerē/
adjective

devolutionist

Pronunciation: /-ist/
noun

Origin:

late 15th century (in the sense 'transference by default'): from late Latin devolutio(n-), from Latin devolvere 'roll down' (see devolve)

devolution in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of devolution in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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