diaspora

American  

[dahy-as-per-uh, dee-] / daɪˈæs pər ə, di- /

noun

1. Usually Diaspora the scattering of the Jews to countries outside of ancient Palestine after the Babylonian captivity.

2. Often Diaspora

   1. the body of Jews living in countries outside Israel.

   2. such countries collectively.

      Passover is celebrated for seven days in Israel, but for eight days by Jews living in the Diaspora.

3. Often Diaspora any group that has been dispersed outside its traditional homeland, especially involuntarily, as Africans during the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

4. any group migration or flight from a country or region.

   Synonyms:

   scattering, displacement, migration, dissemination, dispersion

   Antonyms:

   return

5. any religious group living as a minority among people of the prevailing religion.

6. the spread or dissemination of something originally confined to a local, homogeneous group, as a language or cultural institution.

   the diaspora of English as a global language.

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Diaspora British  

/ daɪˈæspərə /

noun

1. 1. the dispersion of the Jews after the Babylonian and Roman conquests of Palestine

   2. the Jewish communities outside Israel

   3. the Jews living outside Israel

   4. the extent of Jewish settlement outside Israel

2. (in the New Testament) the body of Christians living outside Palestine

3. (often not capital) a dispersion or spreading, as of people originally belonging to one nation or having a common culture

4. the descendants of Sub-Saharan African peoples living anywhere in the Western hemisphere

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Pop Culture

—“To the Diaspora”: A 1981 poem by African American poet Gwendolyn Brooks. — Diaspora: A 1997 science fiction novel by Australian author Greg Egan.

Other Word Forms

• diasporic adjective

Etymology

Origin of diaspora

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Greek diasporá “scattering, dispersion”; dia-, spore

Example Sentences

Behind the scenes, the players had been communicating with members of the Iranian diaspora in Australia, who told them they could claim humanitarian assistance and stay in Australia permanently.

From The Wall Street Journal

Stories of job loss abound within the US Haitian diaspora as some employers become skittish over the uncertainty surrounding TPS.

From Barron's

He was one of the four people from the Queensland Iranian diaspora we had seen in the hotel lobby talking to players at around 5.30pm on Monday afternoon.

From BBC

Every piece of Iranian diaspora culture was built on the bedrock of the regime’s permanence.

From The Wall Street Journal

Robertson was among 150 members of the African diaspora granted Ghanaian citizenship on Monday, the latest group in a growing initiative to reconnect descendants of Africans abroad with the continent of their ancestors.

From Barron's

Related Words

• exodus