Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

devolution en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /diːvəˈluːʃən/ (UK)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French dévolution, from Medieval Latin devolutio, devolutionis, from Latin devolvo.

Meanings

  1. A rolling down.
  2. A descent, especially one that passes through a series of revolutions, or by succession.
  3. The transference of a right to a successor, or of a power from one body to another.
  4. (derogatory) Degeneration.
    • He is the place where the devolution from Heaven and the evolution from earth meet. 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 186:
    • It is quite disheartening to witness the devolution of our nation's political discourse over the past several years.
  5. 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).
    • By the 1974 general election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) were polling at 30% and there were growing calls for devolution. 2021, Otto English, Fake History, page 179:
    • Governments like devolution because it gives ministers someone else to blame for problems. 2020 November 4, Philip Haigh, “Cracks and divisions over funding for public transport”, in Rail, page 55:
    • The question of whether England should receive devolution like Scotland and Wales have has dogged British politics for years.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
devolutions Number=Plur lexicographic

Antonyms

development · evolution

Coordinates

revolution

Deriveds

devolutionist · devolutional · devolutionary · antidevolution

Relateds

devolve

Synonyms

degradation · devolvement (most or all senses)

Translations (16)

nb overføring (a transfer of power) · de Machtübertragung auf Landesteile (a transfer of power) · ru деволю́ция (a descent) · nb hjemfall (a transfer of power) · nl neergang (a rolling down) · ka დევოლუცია (a transfer of power) · ka ძალაუფლების გადაცემა ქვეეროვნული ერთეულებისთვის (a transfer of power) · nb overgang (a transfer of power) · es desevolución (a degeneration) · fr dévolution (a rolling down) · de Dezentralisierung (a transfer of power) · nb nedgang (a degeneration) · pl dewolucja (a transfer of power) · ka დეცენტრალიზაცია (a transfer of power) · ru ска́тывание (a rolling down) · id devolusi (a degeneration)