English
devolve
Devolve comes from Latin dēvolvō ‘roll or tumble off or down’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *welH-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welH-‘to roll, to undulate’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wolwōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvolvō‘roll’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēvolvō‘roll or tumble off or down’
- Englishearliest quotation 1704devolve
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welH-‘to roll, to undulate’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wolwōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvolvō‘roll’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēvolvō‘roll or tumble off or down’
- Englishearliest quotation 1704devolve
Earliest quotation: 1704, Joseph Addison: “They devolved their whole authority into the hands of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *welH- ‘to roll, to undulate’
well, walk, wall, valve, vulgar, waltz, helix, divulge, vagrant, wale, gauche, vulgate, iliac, ilium, valise, valvular, 74 more
through Proto-Italic *wolwō
through Latin volvō ‘roll’
volume, revolution, vault, evolution, involve, revolt, convoluted, voluminous, vulva, revolve, convolution, involution, voluble, 43 more
Today it means
verb To be inherited by someone else; to pass down upon the next person in a succession, especially through failure or loss of an earlier holder.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *welH- / devolve