In its earliest uses in the 15th century, devolve was about literally rolling down: it meant "to roll onward or downward."

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.

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 devolved. There is …

Definition of devolve verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

There are 18 meanings listed in OED's entry for the verb devolve, nine of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence. How common is the verb …

Upon his death, the estate devolved to/on/upon a distant cousin. [=a distant cousin inherited the estate]

Devolution differs from federalism in that the devolved powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government, thus the state remains, de jure, a unitary state.