Diffuse
/dɪˈfjuːs/noun
To spread out over a wide area or through a substance; also, scattered or not concentrated.
Did you know?Its Latin ancestor, *diffundere*, was built from *dis-* (“apart”) + *fundere* (“to pour”), so the word originally described liquid being poured in all directions before it became a metaphor for ideas, light, and energy.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʰewd-
“to pour, shed”
Latin
Latin
fundere
“to pour out”
Latin
Latin
diffundere
“to pour out in different directions; spread abroad”
Late Latin / Old French
Latin / Old French
diffus-
“spread out, extended, not concentrated”
14th–15th Century
English
diffusen
“to spread out, scatter, or pour out broadly”
Modern English
English
diffuse
“to spread widely or thinly over a surface, area, or medium”