[syn: devolve, deteriorate, drop, degenerate]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Devolve \De*volve"\, v. i.
To pass by transmission or succession; to be handed over or
down; -- generally with on or upon, sometimes with to or
into; as, after the general fell, the command devolved upon
(or on) the next officer in rank.
[1913 Webster]
His estate . . . devolved to Lord Somerville.
--Johnson.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Devolve \De*volve"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Devolved; p. pr. &
vb. n. Devolving.] [L. devolvere, devolutum, to roll down;
de + volvere to roll down; de + volvere to roll. See
Voluble.]
1. To roll onward or downward; to pass on.
[1913 Webster]
Every headlong stream
Devolves its winding waters to the main. --Akenside.
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Devolved his rounded periods. --Tennyson.
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2. To transfer from one person to another; to deliver over;
to hand down; -- generally with upon, sometimes with to or
into.
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They devolved a considerable share of their power
upon their favorite. --Burke.
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They devolved their whole authority into the hands
of the council of sixty. --Addison.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
devolve
v 1: pass on or delegate to another; "The representative
devolved his duties to his aides while he was in the
hospital"
2: be inherited by; "The estate fell to my sister"; "The land
returned to the family"; "The estate devolved to an heir that
everybody had assumed to be dead" [syn: fall, return,
pass, devolve]
3: grow worse; "Her condition deteriorated"; "Conditions in the
slums degenerated"; "The discussion devolved into a shouting
match" [syn: devolve, deteriorate, drop, degenerate]
[ant: convalesce, recover, recuperate]