diffusion

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from Latin diffūsiō, from diffundō; can be decomposed as diffuse + -ion.

1. The act of diffusing or dispersing something, or the property of being diffused or dispersed; dispersion.
2. The scattering of light by reflection from a rough surface, or by passage through a translucent medium.
3. The intermingling of the molecules of a fluid due to random thermal agitation.

   “gaseous diffusion”

4. The spread of cultural or linguistic practices, or social institutions, in one or more communities.

   “Even the false-necked vase, though it reaches its widest diffusion at this epoch, is, as we have seen, a type found existing in much earlier strata.”

5. The gradual spread and adoption of goods or services.

   “The chief salesman of the A.I. boom, Sam Altman of OpenAI, said there was more resistance to “the diffusion, the absorption” of A.I. into the culture and economy than he expected.”

6. Exchange of airborne media between regions in space in an apparently random motion of a small scale.
7. The movement of water vapor from regions of high concentration (high water vapor pressure) toward regions of lower concentration.