diffusionn.
/dᵻˈfjuːʒn/, U.S. /dᵻˈfjuʒən/ 1. Diffuseness of speech, writing, or language; expansive or discursive nature or style; prolixity, verbosity. Now rare.Quot. a1413 may have the meaning ‘copious outpouring of speech’ and thus illustrate sense 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > copiousness > [noun] > prolixity
prolixityc1395
tediouste?a1412
diffusiona1413
diffuseness1474
tediousness?a1475
largeness1547
longness1587
prolixness?1590
length1597
longanimity1607
tediositya1625
wire-drawing1640
longinquity1641
long-windedness1648
diffusivenessa1719
sprawling1822
longsomeness1834
ramblingness1835
lengthsomeness1849
bagginess1860
lengthiness1863
governmentese1907
a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iii. l. 296 Nere it that I wilne as now tabregge Diffusioun of speche I koude almost A þousand olde storyes the alegge.
1660 T. White Relig. & Reason i. 22 That eloquently proper Style, the diffusion of the Discourse, the multitude of experiences.
1676 tr. B. Lamy Art of Speaking iv. iii. i. sig. Cc3v The French..choose rather to have their Discourse natural, free, and with some kind of diffusion.
1759 S. Johnson Idler 18 Aug. 257 Diffusion and explication are necessary to the instruction of those who..can learn only what is expressly taught.
1778 V. Knox Ess. I. vii. 49 Attributing to the former [sc. Demosthenes] conciseness, and to the latter [sc. Tully] diffusion.
1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1772 I. 373 I love his knowledge, his genius, his diffusion, and affluence of conversation.
1808 Monthly Rev. Feb. 119 Another [translation] is made tame and languid by excessive diffusion.
1870 J. R. Lowell My Study Windows 278 The power of diffusion without being diffuse would seem to be the highest merit of narration.
1991 W. Pratt in M. R. Winchell Vanderbilt Trad. 66 A poet tended to devolve into diffusion and verbosity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > [noun] > emission > copious emission or effusion
sheddingc1200
out-hieldinga1382
yotingc1390
outyettingc1400
pouring?a1425
outpouring1440
diffusionc1484
effusion1526
infusion1563
spouting1568
profusion1583
c1484 (a1475) J. de Caritate tr. Secreta Secret. (Takamiya) (1977) 176 Watyr is ouircomyng in plawntys and..is noȝt extendyd but be dyfusyon.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum iii. 70 The Diffusion of Species Visible.
1639 H. Glapthorne Trag. Albertus Wallenstein iii. iii. sig. F That hardest Marble, though not cut by force, By oft diffusion of salt drops, is brought Into what ever forme the Carvers fancie Before had destin'd it.
1650 Bp. J. Taylor Funerall Serm. Countesse of Carbery 127 If its current be stopped; it swels and grows troublesome, and spils over with a greater diffusion.
1793 J. Scott Baptism Christ iv. 93 This [sc. the Holy Ghost] sheds itself..in a blessed diffusion upon others.
1832 E. P. Peabody tr. J.-M. Gérando Self-education (ed. 2) 232 The diffusion over the heart of sentiments which flow from reason.
3. † c. The condition of branching out on all sides; an instance of this. Obsolete.
a. The action of spreading something throughout or over a wide area; dispersion through a space or over a surface; an instance of this. Also: the condition of being widely spread; wide or general distribution.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > spreading or diffusion > [noun]
spreadinga1250
skeltingc1540
diffusion1585
prosemination1611
scatter1642
dissemination1646
radiation1658
dispersion1664
spread1757
distribution1860
dispersal1863
scatteration1892
spreadation1925
1585 T. Bilson True Difference Christian Subiection iv. 793 Christ is euery where present, not by local or corporal diffusion, but by mysticall operation.
1591 M. Drayton Harmonie of Church sig. D2v He stood aloft and compassed the land, And of the Nations doth defusion make.
1642 J. Howell Instr. Forreine Travell ix. 117 The bloud gathering up by an unequall diffusion into the upper parts.
1665 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 1 50 A Medium..much less disposed to assist the diffusion of Cold.
1757 Monthly Rev. Feb. 308 His scheme for the diffusion of property, may..tend to the introduction of an Agrarian, and shake the superstructures of our government.
?1787 F. Swediaur Pract. Observ. Venereal Complaints (rev. ed.) i. 18 The venereal poison having grown milder by its diffusion through mankind.
1821 W. M. Craig Lect. Drawing iii. 168 To the painter..the diffusion of light..is of high importance.
1842 J. Bischoff Comprehensive Hist. Woollen Manuf. II. 261 The propagation and diffusion of that breed of sheep.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) II. 859 There seems to have been a great diffusion of the yellow mimulus of recent years.
1949 A. C. Walshaw Heat Engines (ed. 3) xvi. 334 The diffusion of solar heat will continue for a length of time of the order of a million million years before life will be extinguished from the earth.
2011 K. R. Hall Hist. Early Southeast Asia i. 12 This diffusion of the population had important implications for the island realm's political systems.
b. Something which has been spread or dispersed; a scattering.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > [noun] > that which is scattered
scatteringa1340
diffusion1654
1654 W. Charleton Physiologia Epicuro-Gassendo-Charltoniana iii. v. 202 We may understand it to emit rayes in a diffusion Pyramidal.
1705 E. Scarburgh Eng. Euclide 2 (note) Space is an Infinite, and Unmoveable Diffusion every way.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 36. ⁋11 The Sea is..an immense diffusion of waters.
1839 T. De Quincey Lake Reminisc. in Tait's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 1/2 A thin diffusion of humble dwellings—here a scattering, and there a clustering.
1892 Knowledge Jan. 14/2 I am familiar with a number of regions in the heavens where vast diffusions of nebulous matter are situated.
2006 M. R. Kessler Sheer Presence p. xvii She and her companion establish the right side of the picture plane, the rest of which is interposed by a diffusion of people who make their ways across cobblestone boulevards.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > divergence > [noun] > ramification
branching1578
ramification1578
diffusion1658
divarication1664
diramation1779
embranchment1830
1658 Sir T. Browne Garden of Cyrus iv, in Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall 161 The Figge and Olive..had a due diffusion of their roots on all or both sides.
a1682 Sir T. Browne Certain Misc. Tracts (1684) 34 This diffusion and spreading of its Branches.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 414. ¶5 A Tree in all its Luxuriancy and Diffusion of Boughs.
1765 W. Stevenson Orig. Poems II. 186 Charm'd with the wide diffusion of thy sprays.
d. Psychology. The dissemination of impulses or excitation through the nervous system; the arousal of a widespread response by a stimulus. Cf. irradiation n. 7. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > action of nervous system > [noun] > reception or transmission of impulses
reflection1836
irradiation1847
conduction1855
diffusion1859
projection1872
conductivity1881
fusion1892
facilitation1894
reciprocal innervation1896
chemoreception1901
photoreception1902
neurotropism1905
proprioception1906
cheirokinaesthesia1913
schema1920
recruitment1923
conductance1926
volley1928
rectification1941
supersensitivity1949
mechanoreception1958
neurotransmission1961
electroreception1963
phototransduction1972
somatotopy1976
1859 A. Bain Emotions & Will i. 10 Where feeling exists there must be a free diffusion of nervous energy over the brain and its outlying connexions.
1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. II. xxiii. 373 There are probably no exceptions to the diffusion of every impression through the nerve-centres.
1895 Jrnl. Compar. Neurol. 5 18 The most localized forms of pleasure are accompanied by a peculiar nervous diffusion, as in tickling and the genial effect of warmth.
1918 J. Ward Psychol. Princ. i. iv. 79 This ‘diffusion’ or ‘irradiation’..diminishes as we pass from the class of organic sensations to the sensations of the five senses.
2000 M. Basavanna Dict. Psychol. 214/1 Irradiation, an outward diffusion of energy as in diffusion of conditional responses.
4.
a. The dissemination of abstract things, as knowledge, ideas, etc.; transmission.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > publishing or spreading abroad > [noun]
publicationa1387
publishing?c1450
publishmenta1513
propagation1531
divulgating1537
bruit1548
divulgation1548
edition1549
notifying1550
promulgation1562
provulgation1566
diffusion1600
blazon1603
divulging1604
divulge1619
ventilationa1631
evulgation1638
propalationa1676
circulation1684
popularization1797
pervulgationa1832
1600 Abp. G. Abbot Expos. Prophet Ionah xvi. 353 It is Gods word which he bringeth, which is operatiue and quicke, and very apt for diffusion, and spreading abroad.
1642 Bp. J. Taylor Of Sacred Order Episcopacy 4 Episcopacy..was instituted as an obstructive to the diffusion of Schisme and Heresy.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 101. ⁋2 The writer..receives little advantage from the diffusion of his name.
1770 S. Johnson False Alarm 3 One of the chief advantages derived by the present generation from the improvement and diffusion of Philosophy, is..exemption from false alarms.
1834 J. Bowring Minor Morals, Story Perseverance 146 This diffusion of enjoyment.
1874 W. E. Gladstone in Contemp. Rev. Oct. 677 There is a wider diffusion of taste among the many.
1905 Jrnl. Philos., Psychol. & Sci. Methods 2 474 Through a general diffusion of genius humanity shall..pursue the accomplishment of great designs.
1983 P. Dallas Ital. Wines (new ed.) ii. 37 Their word-of-mouth diffusion of information..is extensive and invaluable.
2002 D. Goleman et al. Business: Ultimate Resource 199/3 Knowledge sharing, and diffusion of ideas.
b. Cultural Anthropology. The dissemination of elements of a culture from one region, people, or community to another. See also stimulus diffusion n. at stimulus n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > customs, values, and civilization > [noun] > process > types of
cantonizing1611
diffusion1871
social differentiation1872
acculturation1880
feminization1901
mobilization1911
acculturalization1929
mimesis1934
schismogenesis1935
stimulus diffusion1940
transculturation1941
nativism1943
massification1946
villagization1954
1871 E. B. Tylor Primitive Culture I. i. 8 How good a working analogy there really is between the diffusion of plants and animals and the diffusion of civilization, comes well into view when we notice how far the same causes have produced both at once.
1888 Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 1 241 There existed a connection between beliefs and customs of all sorts, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, from Japan to Ireland. This connection is due to transference; India may be the chief centre of such diffusion.
1922 W. F. Ogburn Social Change v. 89 Diffusion is known to occur even where the contacts are rare and the distances are great.
1956 G. P. Murdock in H. L. Shapiro Man, Culture & Society xi. 255 Diffusion occurs most readily among peoples of similar culture, who already share many elements of habit.
2012 G. Jarvie Sport, Culture & Society (ed. 2) v. 124 The diffusion of English sports and pastimes to continental Europe also involved the export of the amateur ethos and notions of fair play.
c. Linguistics. The gradual spread of words, sound changes, etc., from one group or community to another.
ΚΠ
1874 J. C. Grece tr. E. Maetzner Eng. Gram. I. 9 The introduction of the sibilant sound of c = s is..due to the influence of French, likewise the diffusion [Ger. Verbreitung] of the letters z and v.
1921 E. Sapir Lang. 220 So long as..direct historical testimony..gives us no really convincing examples of profound morphological influence by diffusion, we shall do well not to put too much reliance in diffusion theories.
1978 I. Goddard in W. C. Sturtevant Handbk. N. Amer. Indians XV. 76/2 The diffusion of words or other linguistic features into Eastern Algonquian has been little examined.
2008 M. Montgomery Introd. Lang. & Soc (ed. 3) iii. 88 RP speakers are adopting vernacular features of the South East. The kind of features that might be at stake here are diffusion of the glottal stop to replace /t/ in words such as ‘letter’ or ‘bottle’.
d. Sociology, Business, and Economics. The spread of new concepts and products within an economy or society; the process whereby innovations are accepted by the market. Earliest and often in diffusion of innovations (cf. innovation n. 5). [The phrase diffusion of innovations was popularized by the American sociologist Everett Rogers (1931–2004) in his work of that name: see quot. 1962. It was originally modelled on French diffusion des innovations (1890 in G. Tarde Lois de l'innovation v. 158, the source reviewed in quot. 1890, or earlier).]
ΚΠ
1890 T. Whittaker in Mind July 409 [Tocqueville is] favourable on the whole to the ‘democratic’ state of society in which social uniformity is brought about by the gradual diffusion of innovations.
1927 B. J. Stern Social Factors in Med. Progress 7 The psychological and sociological factors which retard the diffusion of innovations.
1960 Bull. Atomic Scientists May 153/1 The rate of diffusion is a function of..economic environment. Under a private enterprise system, profitability conditions the diffusion rate of innovation.
1962 E. M. Rogers (title) Diffusion of Innovations.
1977 New Scientist 24 Nov. 480/1 The Soviet pattern of diffusion of new products and processes is substantially different from that in the industrialised capitalist countries.
1990 Papers Brit. School Rome 58 149 In a stable society, the rate of innovation and diffusion will be low, so that the same ‘luxuries’ may mark the dominant class over a long period of time.
2015 A. Palmer Smart Money i. ii. 45 The diffusion of innovations follows a pattern known as the ‘S-curve’, in which an initial period of early adoption gives way to a period of..rapid growth, which..eventually leads to saturation.
5. Science. The spontaneous molecular mixing or interpenetration of two substances, esp. gases or liquids, without chemical combination; the spreading of a substance into a space or another substance as a result of the random motion of its molecules; such a process used as a technique for the analysis or separation of substances. Also: the spontaneous migration of atoms, ions, etc., through a solid lattice.Diffusion occurs when there is a concentration gradient, allowing a substance to flow from a region of higher concentration to one where it is lower.facilitated diffusion, gaseous diffusion, solid diffusion, thermal diffusion: see the first element. See also microdiffusion n. at micro- comb. form 2b(e).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical admixture or isolation > [noun] > spontaneous mixing or interpenetration
diffusion1725
the world > life > biology > biological processes > movement > [noun] > diffusion
diffusion1725
self-diffusion1832
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > fluid mechanics > [noun] > diffusion
diffusion1725
1725 T. Morgan Philos. Princ. Med. i. xxxiv. 92 This is doubtless the Cause of the Solution and Diffusion of Salts in Water.
1770 W. Falconer Ess. Bath Waters Introd. 8 Many bodies are capable of so minute a diffusion through the body of a fluid, as to produce the same effects on the body, as they would have done in a state of solution.
1808 J. Dalton New Syst. Chem. Philos. I. i. 191 The diffusion of gases through each other is effected by means of the repulsion belonging to the homogeneous particles.
1833 T. Graham in London & Edinb. Philos. Mag. 2 175 The diffusion or spontaneous intermixture of two gases in contact, is effected by an interchange in position of indefinitely minute volumes of the gases.
1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. i. 13 Gases can be separated partially by diffusion..that is, by taking advantage of the different rates at which gases escape through small orifices or porous partitions.
1964 L. H. Van Vlack Elements Materials Sci. (ed. 2) xii. 357 The oxide barrier formed on aluminum is extremely adherent and quite impervious to diffusion.
1995 W. G. Hopkins Introd. Plant Physiol. iii. 43/1 Diffusion of water vapor through the stomatal pores..accounts for 90 to 95 percent of the water loss from leaves.
1997 New Scientist 21 June 74/2 (advt.) Ionic diffusion and migration in cementitious materials.
Phrases
† in diffusion: in the members of a body of people considered individually; = diffusively adv. 2. Obsolete.See note at diffusive adj. 2.
ΚΠ
1642 Bp. J. Taylor Of Sacred Order Episcopacy 288 The determination of Councells pertains to all, and is handled by all, not in diffusion but in representation.
1686 ‘Philotheus’ Refl. Bulls 1 The Church Catholick in diffusion, or representation.
Compounds
C1.
a. General attributive (chiefly in sense 5), as diffusion cell, diffusion rate, diffusion tube, etc.
ΚΠ
1833 T. Graham in London & Edinb. Philos. Mag. 2 178 A simple instrument, which I shall call a Diffusion-tube, was constructed.
1833 T. Graham in London & Edinb. Philos. Mag. 2 186 The first time a diffusion-bulb is tried, it generally gives the diffusion-volume of hydrogen below the truth.
1850 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 140 5 The saline solution in the diffusion cell or phial thus communicated freely with about 5 times its volume of pure water.
1878 M. Foster Text Bk. Physiol. (ed. 2) iii. ii. 399 If the object be..removed farther away from the lens, the rays..will be brought to a focus in front of the screen, and, subsequently diverging, will fall upon the screen as a circular patch composed of a series of circles, the so-called diffusion circles.
1924 A. J. Allmand & H. J. T. Ellingham Princ. Appl. Electrochem. (ed. 2) xviii. 372 If the ‘diffusion layer’ through which these [sc. ions] must migrate to the anode is left undisturbed, their concentration can become very considerable in the main electrolyte before their anodic discharge becomes appreciable.
1954 T. Vickerstaff Physical Chem. Dyeing (ed. 2) v. 154 Diffusion rate is a characteristic property of a dye, independent of fibre structure, rate of liquor flow and dyebath volume.
1964 Weeds 12 31/2 The separated cuticles were placed between two rubber gaskets under water in a beaker and then placed between two diffusion cells.
2014 N.Y. Times 7 Jan. (Late ed.) d2/5 An M.R.I. machine can detect the direction of information flow, in a technique called diffusion imaging.
b. attributive. Designating a collection of relatively inexpensive ready-to-wear items of clothing produced for the mass market by a high-end fashion designer, as diffusion line, diffusion range, etc.
ΚΠ
1983 Wisconsin State Jrnl. 1 Dec. (Look section) 1/1 In the [fashion] industry, these more modestly priced collections are known as diffusion lines.
1986 Times 30 Sept. 13/1 It is one of the lesser-known facts that many influential designers do bring out diffusion ranges that are within the orbit of fashion-conscious women.
1999 C. Weil Secondhand Chic vi. 114 Become familiar with the relative merits and demerits of diffusion labels.
2013 Weekend Austral. (Nexis) 19 Jan. (Finance section) 27 Expensive couture and ready-to-wear clothing sit at the top of a pyramid before trickling down through the cash cows of diffusion brands, accessories, fragrances and underwear.
C2.
diffusion coefficient n. Science (with reference to a substance in a mixture or solution) the ratio of the diffusive flux in any given direction to the concentration gradient in that direction; = diffusion constant n.
ΚΠ
1850 Q. Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 2 285 A mixture of two or more gaseous bodies, whose relative proportions are expressed by their diffusion coefficients.
1924 A. J. Allmand & H. J. T. Ellingham Princ. Appl. Electrochem. (ed. 2) ix. 159 The measurement of the diffusion coefficient is carried out with a similar apparatus, in which the diaphragm is now placed vertically, and the head of the electrolyte is the same on both sides.
2003 L. Moss What Genes can't Do iii. 89 Comparison of the diffusion coefficients of the membrane protein gramicidin..with that of glycophorin.
diffusion constant n. Science (with reference to a substance in a mixture or solution) the ratio of the diffusive flux in any given direction to the concentration gradient in that direction; = diffusion coefficient n.
ΚΠ
1855 London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 4th Ser. 10 35 We understand by k, as above, the diffusion-constant for the combination of salt and water in question.
1936 W. Stiles Introd. Princ. Plant Physiol. iv. 46 The value of D..at a defined temperature and concentration is called the diffusion constant, diffusivity, or coefficient of diffusion of the substance.
2012 S. Matsuoka & T. K. Kwei in F. Bovey Macromolecules v. 404 The diffusion constants are, as a rule, functions of both the temperature and the concentration of the organic diffusant c in the system.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.a1413