dissémination

Forms

dissémination f (plural disséminations)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin dissēminātiō (“a spreading abroad”),^[2][3][4] formed on the supine of dissēminō (“to scatter seed, spread”), the verb behind disséminer.^[5][6] Wiktionary notes that it can also be analysed in French as the verb with the suffix -ation.^[1]

The TLFi dates it to 1674; the FEW, the Petit Robert and Bloch and Wartburg have 1764, from Charles Bonnet.^[7][2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Le Gallois's Conversations académiques (1674).^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

In botany it names the natural scattering of seeds and spores, the sense the GLLF dates to Charles Bonnet in 1764.^[6][2][8] By extension, from 1791, it was used of any dispersal over a wide area, of people, troops or things,^[6][2] and figuratively of the spread of ideas.^[8][9] In medicine it names the spread of germs or of a cancer through the body,^[9][4] and in politics the spread of nuclear weapons.^[9][4]

Timeline

• 1674 – First record, in Le Gallois's Conversations académiques.^[2][7]
• 1764 – Charles Bonnet uses it for the scattering of seeds.^[6][7]
• 1791 – Recorded in the wider sense of dispersal over a large area.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of scattering or spreading, or its result; dispersal.^[9][10][4]
2. (botany) The natural dispersal of seeds, spores or pollen.^[2][9][4]
3. (medicine) The spread of germs or of a cancer through the body.^[9][4]
4. (figurative) The spread of ideas; diffusion, propagation.^[9][10][8]
5. The spread of weapons, especially nuclear ones.^[9][4]

Related words

• disséminer
• disséminateur
• semer
• insémination
• Latin dissēminō
• English dissemination

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c d Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)