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• diaspora
  diaspora

  noun

  Usually Diaspora. the scattering of the Jews from the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah following the dissolution of those kingdoms and Babylonian captivity.
• Diaspora
  Diaspora

diaspora

American  

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

noun

• diasporas
  plural

1. Usually Diaspora. the scattering of the Jews from the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah following the dissolution of those kingdoms and 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

Derived Forms

• diasporic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• diasporas
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of diaspora

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

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Explanation

A diaspora is a large group of people with a similar heritage or homeland who have since moved out to places all over the world. The term diaspora comes from an ancient Greek word meaning "to scatter about." And that's exactly what the people of a diaspora do — they scatter from their homeland to places across the globe, spreading their culture as they go. The Bible refers to the Diaspora of Jews exiled from Israel by the Babylonians. But the word is now also used more generally to describe any large migration of refugees, language, or culture.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

diaspora Diaspora diasporas

Who else would willingly tackle the most deeply contentious foods of the entirety of the Jewish diaspora?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

“The Jewish diaspora in Israel is vaster and more diverse than people think,” Barhany said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Lior Yohanani, a sociologist at Tel Aviv University who studies diaspora military service, says the profile of recruits is shifting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

For Korean diaspora fans, the show carried an even deeper cultural resonance.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

I learned about the Jewish diaspora and the strange history of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Available starting Sept. 18 at denimtears.com, Africa Diaspora Goods and select Dover Street Market locations and Comme des Garçons shops.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

In the third volume of her Diaspora Quartet, Lee follows the Koh family from Australia to Korea to the United States as their paterfamilias John hews to his strong inner compass.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Diaspora communities are increasingly playing a role in widening player pools, said Gijsbert Oonk, a professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam who studies the intersection of migration and sports.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

In 1969, the son of the Diaspora finally visited Israel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

They spent many hours talking together about the changing world and the dawning of independence and liberation movements across the African Diaspora.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

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 ● Feb. 25, 2026

The move hits at the heart of Minnesota’s Somali-American community, one of the largest Somali diasporas in the country.

From Salon ● Nov. 22, 2025

For Ukrainian actor Katarina Sinchillo, Russian diasporas can vary and Montenegro's is "sensitive".

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2024

Canada, home to one of the world's largest Ukrainian diasporas, is a vocal supporter of Kyiv.

From Reuters ● Sep. 17, 2023

“These are small countries and they’re large diasporas, so you’re going to have a big effect,” Bahar said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2023

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Related Words

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