Etymology

Borrowed from Middle FrenchCategory:English terms borrowed from Middle French#DEVOLUTIONCategory:English terms derived from Middle French#DEVOLUTION dévolution, from Medieval LatinCategory:English terms derived from Medieval Latin#DEVOLUTION devolutio, devolutionis, from LatinCategory:English terms derived from Latin#DEVOLUTION devolvo.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /diːvəˈluːʃən/Category:English 4-syllable words#DEVOLUTIONCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#DEVOLUTION

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#DEVOLUTION
• Rhymes: -uːʃənCategory:Rhymes:English/uːʃən#DEVOLUTIONCategory:Rhymes:English/uːʃən/4 syllables#DEVOLUTION

Noun

devolution (plural devolutions)Category:English lemmas#DEVOLUTIONCategory:English nouns#DEVOLUTIONCategory:English countable nouns#DEVOLUTIONCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#DEVOLUTIONCategory:Pages with entries#DEVOLUTIONCategory:Pages with 1 entry#DEVOLUTION

2. A rolling down.
4. A descent, especially one that passes through a series of revolutions, or by succession.
6. The transference of a right to a successor, or of a power from one body to another.
8. (derogatoryCategory:English derogatory terms#DEVOLUTION) Degeneration.

   Synonym: degradation

   Antonyms: evolution, development

   Coordinate term: revolution

   It is quite disheartening to witness the devolution of our nation's political discourse over the past several years.

   Category:English terms with usage examples#DEVOLUTION

   • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 186:

     He is the place where the devolution from Heaven and the evolution from earth meet.

     Category:English terms with quotations#DEVOLUTION

10. (governmentCategory:en:Government#DEVOLUTION) The transfer of some powers and the delegation of some functions from a central government to local government (e.g. from the U.K. parliament to Scottish parliament and Welsh assembly).

    The question of whether England should receive devolution like Scotland and Wales have has dogged British politics for years.

    Category:English terms with usage examples#DEVOLUTION

    • 2020 November 4, Philip Haigh, “Cracks and divisions over funding for public transport”, in Rail, page 55:

      Governments like devolution because it gives ministers someone else to blame for problems.

      Category:English terms with quotations#DEVOLUTION

    • 2021, Otto English, Fake History, page 179:

      By the 1974 general election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) were polling at 30% and there were growing calls for devolution.

      Category:English terms with quotations#DEVOLUTION