diaspora

noun

di·​as·​po·​ra dī-ˈa-sp(ə-)rə 

dē-

plural diasporas

1

often Diaspora plural Diasporas Judaism

a

: the Jews living outside Israel

—usually used with the

… contributions made by the Diaspora to Israel's well-being …

—Idan Roll

b

: the settling of scattered communities of Jews outside ancient Palestine after the Babylonian exile

Sephardi Jews began their diaspora into lands including North Africa and Anatolia in the late 15th century …

—Brendan Lavell

c

: the area outside ancient Palestine settled by Jews

The history of the Jewish people has been precisely a journey … out of ancient Babylon to the promised land, into the Diaspora, and then a sojourning in nearly all the lands of the world's nations …

—Sharon L. Coggan

2

or less commonly Diaspora

a

: people settled far from their ancestral homelands

—often used with the

members of the African diaspora

b

: the places where people settled and established communities far from their ancestral homelands

The festival features 12 films from across the Caribbean and its diasporas: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Martinique, the UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and the Bahamas …

—Daily News (New York)

c

: the movement, migration, or scattering of a people away from an established or ancestral homeland

the Black diaspora from the rural South to northern cities

3

: the fact or condition of being a member of a diaspora

But centuries of migration for many mean many live in diaspora, and not always—Jew or not—experiencing diaspora as exile.

—Melanie Kaye

Written from her point of view as an Arab in diaspora, [Reem] Assil takes readers on a journey through her Palestinian and Syrian roots, showing how her heritage has inspired her recipes …

—Washington Report on Middle East Affairs

diasporic

ˌdī-ə-ˈspȯr-ik 

adjective

Unlike in India where festivities are public and widespread, diasporic celebrations are more regulated to specific spaces and times.

—Rina Arya

Did you know?

The Beginnings of the Word Diaspora

Until recently diaspora was thought to be a fairly new word in English to describe a very old thing (its first, and principal, meaning relates to the settling of the Jewish people outside of Palestine after the Babylonian exile thousands of years ago). However, recent research has found that the word is quite a bit older than previously thought. It can be found as far back as 1594, in a translation of Lambert Daneau’s A Fruitfull Commentarie vpon the Twelue Small Prophets: “This scattering abrode of the Iewes, as it were an heauenly sowing, fell out after their returne from the captiuitie of Babylon … they are called Diaspora, that is, a scattering or sowing abrode.” Diaspora is descended from the Greek word diaspeirein, meaning “to scatter, spread about.”

Examples of diaspora in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Since its opening in January 2025, the space has seen celebrations and gatherings often featuring a Bahamian carnival drum called a tum tum, in vibrant expressions of Black joy, and a weekly passport series highlighting a country across the diaspora. —Louisa Kung Liu Chu, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026

Every course of the tasting menu—sourced from local Black farmers and rooted in the foodways of the African diaspora—is both a dish and a story, told with warmth and skill. —Regan Stephens, Bon Appetit Magazine, 26 May 2026

Lauren Harwell Godfrey’s award-winning designs are rooted in the ancient patterns of the African diaspora. —Anthony Demarco, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026

The pre-revolutionary Iranian flag is widely recognized as a symbol of political identity, opposition to the current Iranian regime, and support for democratic and secular principles among members of the Iranian diaspora and others. —Adam Crafton, New York Times, 25 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Greek, dispersion, from diaspeirein to scatter, from dia- + speirein to sow

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined at sense 1b