devolve
/dɪˈvɒlv/dih-VAHLV
/dɪˈvɑlv/dih-VAHLV
Meaningto roll down
Common meaning: to pass power or a duty down to someone else
- dedown, away, off; undoing
- volveto roll, turn aboutLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 2013 · scan
‘down, away, off’ + ‘to roll, turn about’ → devolve
Journey through time
- Latindeuoluere‘to roll down’source
- Englishdevolve‘to pass power or a duty down to someone else’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Latin volvō ‘to roll, turn about’.
Roots
- volvō, volvī, volūtum Latin “to roll, turn about”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app