devolution

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UK:^*^*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˌdɛvəˈluːʃ^ən/, /ˌdiːvəˈluːʃ^ən/

US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(dev′ə lo̅o̅′shən or, esp. Brit., dē′və-)

dev•o•lu•tion (dev′ə lo̅o̅′shən or, esp. Brit., dē′və-),USA pronunciation n.

the act or fact of devolving;
passage onward from stage to stage.
the passing on to a successor of an unexercised right.
Lawmakingthe passing of property from one to another, as by hereditary succession.
Developmental Biology[Biol.]degeneration.
Governmentthe transfer of power or authority from a central government to a local government.

Medieval Latin dēvolūtiōn- (stem of dēvolūtiō) a rolling down, equivalent. to Latin dēvolūt(us) rolled down (past participle of dēvolvere; see devolve) + -iōn- -ion
Middle French)
(1535–45

dev′o•lu′tion•ar′y, adj., n.,
dev′o•lu′tion•ist, n.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

devolution /ˌdiːvəˈluːʃən/ n

the act, fact, or result of devolving
a passing onwards or downwards from one stage to another
another word for degeneration
a transfer or allocation of authority, esp from a central government to regional governments or particular interests

Etymology: 16th Century: from Medieval Latin dēvolūtiō a rolling down, from Latin dēvolvere to roll down, sink into; see devolveˌdevoˈlutionary adj ˌdevoˈlutionist n , adj

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⇱ devolution - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

devolution