n. Delegation of power, esp. To local or regional administration. devolutionist n. & adj. [latin: related to *devolve]

adj. (also diabolic) 1 of the devil.

- devilish; inhumanly cruel or wicked.

- extremely bad, clever, or annoying. diabolically adv. [latin: related to *devil]

adj. Of a thing's historical development. diachronically adv. [greek khronos time]

—adj. Of or assisting diagnosis. —n. Symptom. diagnostically adv. Diagnostician n. [greek: related to *diagnosis]

n. (treated as sing. Or pl.) = *dialectic n. 1.

adj. (of fabric etc.) Light, delicate, and almost transparent. [greek phaino show]

adj. - of the 19th-c. Novelist dickens or his work.

- resembling situations in dickens's work, esp. Poverty.

n. Propr. Machine for recording and playing back dictated words. [from *dictate, *phone]

n. (pl. -ies) 1 book listing (usu. Alphabetically) and explaining the words of a language or giving corresponding words in another language.

- reference book explaining the terms of a particular subject. [medieval latin: related to *diction]

n. Long tubular australian aboriginal musical instrument. [imitative]