Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Devolution

Devolution , noun

[Late Latin devolutio: compare French dévolution.]

1.
The act of rolling down. [Rare]
The devolution of earth down upon the valleys. — Woodward
2.
Transference from one person to another; a passing or devolving upon a successor.
The devolution of the crown through a... channel known and conformable to old constitutional requisitions. — De Quincey