Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Devolve

De·volve′ (dē·vŏlv′), 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.

Every headlong stream Devolves its winding waters to the main. Akenside.

Devolved his rounded periods. Tennyson.

2. To transfer from one person to another; to deliver over; to hand down; — generally with upon, sometimes with to or into.

They devolved a considerable share of their power upon their favorite. Burke.

They devolved their whole authority into the hands of the council of sixty. Addison.

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.

His estate . . . devolved to Lord Somerville. Johnson.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.