Diaspora
noun /daɪˈasp(ə)rə/ — A community scattered far from its original homeland.
Definition
The dispersion of any people from their original homeland — originally referring to the Jewish exile, now applied broadly to any community living outside their country of origin while maintaining cultural identity.
Beyond the definition
Diaspora carries a particular kind of double belonging — belonging to the place you are from and the place you are now, never entirely at home in either. The diaspora community preserves culture both faithfully and in translation, keeping the original language while adapting it to new soil.
Origin & history
From Greek diaspora (dispersion), from dia- (through) + speirein (to sow, scatter). Originally used for the Jewish communities outside Israel; expanded in the 20th century to describe any dispersed ethnic community.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The Irish diaspora has maintained a distinct cultural identity across generations and continents.
She grew up in the Ghanaian diaspora in London — belonging to two countries and fully inhabiting neither.
The restaurant was the heart of the local diaspora — the place where language and food could still be entirely themselves.
Synonyms
dispersion, exile community, scattered people
Antonyms
homeland, indigenous community
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Traveler by a campfire
An adult traveler sits by a campfire in a vast, open desert at night, with their belongings simply packed nearby.
The traveler represents the diaspora—the dispersion from an original home. Their temporary, nomadic camp in the vast desert illustrates the condition of maintaining one's identity and spirit while living away from the place of origin.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration