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.

---

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

---

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

Collecting art, like clothes, is her way of exploring the diaspora.

From Los Angeles Times

Looming in the background for Carney, though, are domestic political considerations, with trepidation from pockets of the country’s Indian diaspora.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the 19th and 20th centuries, it helped the city become a bustling metropolis, home to sizable European diasporas and a distinct cosmopolitan culture.

From Barron's

He is additionally the founder of the major "Stereo Africa" festival in Dakar, dedicated to contemporary music from the continent and its diaspora, which also provides training to youth in the music industry.

From Barron's

But many in the Cuban diaspora have targeted businesses specializing in these transactions.

From Barron's

Related Words

• exodus