[de.volve] vb de.volved ; de.volv.ing [ME, fr. L devolvere, fr. de- + volvere to roll--more at voluble] vt (15c): 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" ~ vi 1 a: to pass by transmission or succession "the estate devolved on a distant cousin" b: to fall or be passed usu. 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 ... ~ from his belief in basic American rights --Frank Deford"
3: to degenerate through a gradual change or evolution "where order ~s into chaos --Johns Hopkins Mag."