Devolution

How to spell devolution

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce devolution

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does devolution mean?

1. nounThe transfer of power or authority from a central government to regional or local government.
2. nounA decline or degeneration to a lower or worse condition.

Devolution in a sentence

• The referendum paved the way for greater devolution to the regional assembly.

• Critics described the policy as a devolution into chaos and mismanagement.

• Scottish devolution created a parliament with control over health and education.

• The report warned of a slow devolution of standards across the industry.

Where does devolution come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb devolvere, which literally meant 'to roll down', formed from de- meaning 'down' or 'away' and volvere meaning 'to roll' or 'to turn'. The related Latin noun devolutio described a rolling down or a passing on, and the idea of something rolling down from one party to another gave the word its legal flavour. English adopted it in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries first as a legal and ecclesiastical term, describing how a right, duty, or property passed down or was handed on to another person. The same volvere root spins quietly inside many familiar words, including revolve, involve, and revolution. In the twentieth century the political meaning sharpened: power 'rolling down' from a central government to regional bodies, a sense now central to British constitutional debate. The single -l- and the -lution ending are the usual spelling traps, since the word looks as though it should mirror 'revolution'.

How the word is built

• de- (down, away)
• volut- (from Latin volvere: to roll)
• -ion (noun-forming suffix)