diaspora

noun

1. A large group of people who share a national or ethnic origin and have spread out from their original homeland to live in other parts of the world.

   B2

   usually singular, often 'the diaspora'; countable

   • "The Irish diaspora includes millions of people living in the United States, Britain and Australia."C1
   • "Members of the diaspora often maintain strong ties to their ancestral culture."C1
   • "The city is home to a large Vietnamese diaspora."C1

2. The movement or scattering of a people away from their original homeland.

   C2

   usually singular; uncountable or with 'the'formal

   • "The diaspora of Jewish communities began in ancient times and continued for centuries."C2

3. Any group of people or things that have spread out from a common origin or place, not only an ethnic or national group.

   C2

   countable; used figurativelyformal

   • "After the company closed, its former engineers formed a diaspora across the tech industry."C2

4. The scattering of seeds or particles; used figuratively for any wide dispersal.

   C2

   technical

   • "The diaspora of pollen by the wind ensures wide distribution."C2