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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
devolve
verb
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Discussions have been initiated and we hope that agreement will be reached with several colleges to devolve responsibility to them in 1989.
▪ I found myself staring at her, my mind devolving from the content of the short and impersonal crematorium service.
▪ If everyone charges ahead in his own direction, why does society not devolve into anarchy?
▪ One result of devolving off-duty allocation to ward level may be arrangements which take too much account of staff interests.
▪ Southwark's model of care management will not devolve financial responsibility for community care to care managers.
▪ The goal of the welfare bill is to devolve power and responsibilty to the states.
▪ They included clauses to devolve power by increasing the autonomy and economic power of local councils.
▪ Thus half the effort of benefit-cost analysis would devolve upon the firm, whose owners' best interests dictate accurate cost estimates.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Devolve

Devolve \De*volve"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Devolved; p. pr. & vb. n. Devolving.] [L. devolvere, devolutum, to roll down; de + volvere to roll down; de + volvere to roll. See Voluble.]

  1. To roll onward or downward; to pass on.

    Every headlong stream Devolves its winding waters to the main.
    --Akenside.

    Devolved his rounded periods.
    --Tennyson.

  2. To transfer from one person to another; to deliver over; to hand down; -- generally with upon, sometimes with to or into.

    They devolved a considerable share of their power upon their favorite.
    --Burke.

    They devolved their whole authority into the hands of the council of sixty.
    --Addison.

Devolve

Devolve \De*volve"\, v. i. To pass by transmission or succession; to be handed over or down; -- generally with on or upon, sometimes with to or into; as, after the general fell, the command devolved upon (or on) the next officer in rank.

His estate . . . devolved to Lord Somerville.
--Johnson.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
devolve

early 15c., "to roll down," from Latin devolvere "to roll down," from de- (see de-) + volvere "to roll" (see volvox). Figurative sense of "to cause to pass down" is from 1520s. Related: Devolved; devolving. Also in same sense was devolute (1530s), from Latin devolutus, past participle of devolvere.

Wiktionary
devolve

vb. 1 (context obsolete transitive English) To roll (something) down; to unroll. (15th-19th c.) 2 (context intransitive English) To be inherited by someone else; to pass down (term: upon) the next person in a succession, especially through failure or loss of an earlier holder. (from 16th c.) 3 (context transitive English) To delegate (a responsibility, duty etc.) (term: on) or (term: upon) someone. (from 17th c.) 4 (context intransitive English) To fall as a duty or responsibility (term: on) or (term: upon) someone. (from 18th c.) 5 (context intransitive English) To degenerate; to break down. (from 18th c.)

WordNet
devolve
  1. v. pass on or delegate to another; "The representative devolved his duties to his aides while he was in the hospital"

  2. be inherited by; "The estate fell to my sister"; "The land returned to the family"; "The estate devolved to an heir that everybody had assumed to be dead" [syn: fall, return, pass]

  3. grow worse; "Her condition deteriorated"; "Conditions in the slums degenerated"; "The discussion devolved into a shouting match" [syn: deteriorate, drop, degenerate] [ant: recuperate]

Wikipedia
Devolve (EP)

The Devolve EP is the 1990 debut release by New Zealand rock band Shihad. The EP was originally released in 1990 on a limited run of 1000 vinyl records, and later rereleased as a limited run of CDs.

Devolve received critical acclaim and while only being the band's first release, they were already one of the most talked about bands in New Zealand, at point of release they had already opened for such famous metal acts as Faith No More and Anthrax.

Shihad's lineup at the time included young Hamish Laing, who only ever appears on this recording (later to be replaced with Karl Kippenberger), as well as Shihad - then Shihäd - main stayers Jon Toogood, Phil Knight and Tom Larkin.

The track "The Wizard" is a cover of the Black Sabbath song " The Wizard" that was on the self-titled Black Sabbath album.

The Track "Down Dance" was also released as a b-side on The Angels' first single from their Beyond Salvation album, "Dogs Are Talking". Also included on this single was Auckland band Nine Livez, with both bands playing support for The Angels on their subsequent NZ tour in 1990.

Usage examples of "devolve".

Henry was away and Matilda Empress kept her own establishments in Rouen, it devolved upon the Duchess Eleanor to set up centers of civility in the West befitting the new Angevin dynasty whose prospects at this time rose so fair as to cast a shadow over the Ile itself.

The image of a free constitution was preserved with decent reverence: the Roman senate appeared to possess the sovereign authority, and devolved on the emperors all the executive powers of government.

But power to naturalize aliens may be, and early was, devolved by Congress upon state courts having a common law jurisdiction.

Deng was sent back to China by truck through Mongolia to bring munitions as well as his own services to a northern warlord who had momentarily allied with the Communists in the Hobbesian all-against-all war of regions and factions into which China had devolved.

At that date Francois Retz was General of the Jesuits, and on him devolved the duty of communicating the orders of the courts of Spain and Portugal to the Jesuits in the missions of the Uruguay.

Experience overturns these airy fabrics, and teaches us, that in a large society, the election of a monarch can never devolve to the wisest, or to the most numerous part of the people.

How can I tell Dad that the lives of Sarah, Howie, Alanna and Gordon Brunswick had devolved into a low-budget 1970s sex comedy with an aerospace theme.

Oh, various of his subjects owned this house and that shopbut if he took a liking to a particular building, a few moments of strenuous stabbing by his guards led to the goods of dead traitors devolving into waiting baronial hands.

Ulrich, Duke of Brandenburgh, I proceed to the solemn duty that hath devolved upon me.

The authority had then devolved in the customary way upon the Cardinal Camerlengo, who during the interregnum had sovereign powers.

For the nonce he was rather nonplussed but inasmuch as the duty plainly devolved upon him to take some measures on the subject he pondered suitable ways and means during which Stephen repeatedly yawned.

Of two duties which devolve upon the Judge after the arrest, and whether the names of the deponents should be made known to the accused.

By the failure of the collateral branches, the whole inheritance devolved to Charles the Fat, the last emperor of his family: his insanity authorized the desertion of Germany, Italy, and France: he was deposed in a diet, and solicited his daily bread from the rebels by whose contempt his life and liberty had been spared.

He devolves upon his own world the responsibility of being in the right against the dissentient worlds of other people.

But when the sceptre devolved to Almamon, the seventh of the Abbassides, he completed the designs of his grandfather, and invited the muses from their ancient seats.