diaspora

noun di·as·po·ra \ dī-ˈas-p(ə-)rə , dē- \

|Updated on: 19 Jun 2018

Editor's Note: The Beginnings of the Word diaspora

Definition of diaspora

1 capitalized Judaism

a : the Jews living outside Palestine or modern Israel

members of the Diaspora

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

c : the area outside ancient Palestine settled by Jews

2 a : people settled far from their ancestral homelands

members of the African diaspora

b : the place where these people live

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

the black diaspora to northern cities

—

diasporic

play \ˌdī-ə-ˈspȯr-ik\ adjective

See diaspora defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of diaspora from the Web

That’s an astonishing, unique and counterintuitive bit of trivia that speaks to the power of national identity as well as to the raw popularity of the team that binds a diaspora.

— brian straus, SI.com, "United States of El Tri: Mexico Owns America's World Cup Spotlight," 30 May 2018
Over the course of two weeks, 420 performers — 242 from the island and 178 from the Cuban diaspora — will serve up a rich Cuban stew of music, dance, theater, art, film, graphic arts and fashion.

— mimi whitefield, miamiherald, "Politics collide with art as Kennedy Center prepares for Cuban culture festival," 4 May 2018
While the myth remains of Jews Making Aliyah, or moving from the diaspora to Israel, twice as many move each year in the opposite direction.

— larry tye, BostonGlobe.com, "Essay: ‘Nothing but growth’ and optimism," 19 Apr. 2018
Like its leader, Hiltzik Strategies’ political diaspora leans left.

— lacey rose, The Hollywood Reporter, "The PR Guru Behind Trump's Mouthpieces Speaks," 17 Apr. 2018
There are worrying links, as the Chinese authorities are keen to point out, between Uighur separatism and global jihad, especially in the Uighur diaspora, which is based in Turkey.

— The Economist, "China has turned Xinjiang into a police state like no other," 31 May 2018
What particularly infuriates Bronfman is the discrimination of the Israeli government against the Jews of the diaspora, like himself, whose religious observance is more relaxed.

— lisa miller, Daily Intelligencer, "The Face of Birthright Israel Is Speaking Out Against the Prime Minister," 30 May 2018
This referendum is deeply divisive in Ireland and for the Irish diaspora around the world, many of which are traveling long distances to be able to cast their vote.

— samantha barry, Glamour, "Why You—Yes, You—Need to Pay Attention to Ireland's Historic Abortion Referendum," 24 May 2018
Because what Adela represented to the Nuyorican community, the diaspora, and Puerto Ricans all together, is disappearing — not just here in America, but on the island as well.

— illyanna maisonet, San Francisco Chronicle, "The quest to preserve Puerto Rican culture with food," 21 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'diaspora.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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.”