Main Entry: de·volve

Pronunciation: \di-ˈvälv, -ˈvȯlv, dē-\

Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): de·volved; de·volv·ing

Etymology: Middle English, from Latin devolvere, from de- + volvere to roll — more at voluble

Date: 15th century

transitive verb : to pass on (as responsibility, rights, or powers) from one person or entity to another <devolving to western Europe full responsibility for its own defense — Christopher Lane>intransitive verb 1 a : to pass by transmission or succession <the estate devolved on a distant cousin> b : to fall or be passed usually as a responsibility or obligation <the responsibility for breadwinning has devolved increasingly upon women — Barbara Ehrenreich>
2 : to come by or as if by flowing down <his allegedly subversive campaigns…devolve from his belief in basic American rights — Frank Deford>
3 : to degenerate through a gradual change or evolution <where order devolves into chaos — Johns Hopkins Magazine>