Skip to content

disseminate

verb

  1. to scatter or spread widely, distribute
L31863 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /dɪˈsɛmɪˌneɪt/ / /dɪˈsɛməˌneɪt/ / /dɪˈsemɪˌnæɪt/

verb

Etymology: Borrowed from Latin dissēminātus, the perfect passive participle of dissēminō (“to broadcast, disseminate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), further from dis- (“asunder, in all directions”) + sēminō (“to plant, sow”), from sēmen (“seed”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). See also Middle English disseminat(e) (“disseminated”).

  1. To sow and scatter principles, ideas, opinions, etc, or concrete things, for growth and propagation, like seeds.
  2. To become widespread.

    The values of the human rights movement have disseminated throughout the world.

    As the missletoe is disseminated by birds, its existence depends on birds; and it may metaphorically be said to struggle with other fruit-bearing plants, in order to tempt birds to devour and thus disseminate its seeds rather than those of other plants. In these several senses, which pass into each other, I use for convenience sake the general term of struggle for existence.

disseminate — meaning, definition (verb) · Vinony