dévolution

Forms

dévolution f (plural dévolutions)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin dēvolūtiō (“devolved right”), a term of canon law, formed on the supine of Latin dēvolvō (“to roll down”).^[2][3][4][1] The Medieval Latin word is recorded in 1343; in Late Latin it had meant “descent, decline”.^[2][4][5] It belongs to the family of dévolu.^[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1385 as a term of canon law, in the sense of the Medieval Latin word, the award of a vacant benefice by way of devolution.^[2][5][4]

Semantic evolution

In 1690 Furetière defined it as a right acquired by succession from one degree to the next, citing the king's claim to several towns of Brabant.^[2][5] The War of Devolution (1667–1668) was waged by Louis XIV in the name of Maria Theresa's rights to the Low Countries.^[6] The general legal sense of the transfer of a property or a right from one person to another is recorded in the Encyclopédie in 1754.^[5] In modern French it is also used for the transfer of powers.^[1]

Timeline

• 1385 – First recorded, as a term of canon law.^[2][4]
• 1461 – Used in the royal Ordonnances.^[2]
• 1690 – Furetière defines it as a right of succession.^[2][5]
• 1754 – The Encyclopédie has the sense of a transfer of property or rights.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (law) The transfer of a property or a right from one person to another, by succession or by a special grant.^[5][7]
2. (law) The passing of hereditary rights to the next degree when the nearer degree renounces them, or to one line when the other dies out: dévolution successorale.^[6]
3. (history) A right that in some countries gave the inheritance to the children of a first marriage in preference to those of a second.^[5][7]
4. The transfer of powers, devolution.^[1]

Related words

• dévolu
• dévoluer
• dévolutaire
• Latin dēvolvō

Usage notes

La guerre de Dévolution is the name of the war of 1667–1668 that Louis XIV fought in the name of this right of his wife.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)