disseminate, v.
(dɪˈsɛmɪneɪt)
[f. L. dissēmināt- ppl. stem of dissēmināre to spread abroad, disseminate, f. dis- 1 + sēmen, sēmin- seed; cf. F. disséminer (14th c. in Littré).]
1. trans. lit. To scatter abroad, as in sowing seed; to spread here and there; to disperse (things) so as to deposit them in all parts.
| 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 1309 [Isis] applieth herselfe to engender the same, yea and to disseminate and sowe the..similitudes thereof. 1656 Blount Glossogr., Disseminate, to sow here and there, to spread abroad. 1665 Hooke Microgr. 68 The tinging substance does consist of..particles..which are disseminated, or dispers'd all over the other. 1791 Boswell Johnson an. 1750 (1848) 67/2 Considering how universally those volumes are now disseminated. 1830–75 Lyell Princ. Geol. I. ii. xix. 483 The action of tides and currents in disseminating sediment. 1859 Darwin Orig. Spec. iii. (1873) 50 The mistletoe is disseminated by birds. |
† b. To cause to ramify; to distribute. Obs.
| 1664 Power Exp. Philos. i. 17 The liquours that circulate through the pipes and vessels disseminated through those parts. 1668 Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. iii. iii. 328 Seven pair of Nerves..disseminated into the whole outward Head. |
c. In pa. pple. and pass., used of diffused situation, without implying the action: cf. disperse 2.
| 1677 Grew Anat. Seeds iv. iii. §7 (1682) 201 In the Upper Coat, the Seed-vessels are disseminated. 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) II. 291 Grey ore of manganese..occurs massive, disseminated, in nests or rifts. 1841 J. Trimmer Pract. Geol. 73 A mineral which occurs in pieces not exceeding the size of a hazel-nut, imbedded or incorporated in another mineral, is said to be disseminated. 1869 Pouchet's Universe (1871) 16 The pantheists supposed life to be disseminated through all the interstices of matter. |
2. fig. To spread abroad, diffuse, promulgate (opinions, statements, knowledge, etc.).
| 1643 Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. i. §23 This [the Bible] without a blow hath disseminated it selfe through the whole earth. 1670 G. H. Hist. Cardinals i. i. 13 To hear that Beast of a Priest disseminate such Doctrine. 1796 Bp. Watson Apol. Bible 2 The zeal with which you labour to disseminate your opinions. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. xiii. 108 Disseminating knowledge over the universe. 1843 J. Martineau Chr. Life (1867) 58 He disseminated the principles of peace. |
3. intr. (for refl.) To diffuse itself, spread. rare.
| 1803 Man in Moon (1804) No. 3. 23 The..discipline and professional courage that would disseminate through the volunteer ranks. |
Hence diˈsseminated ppl. a.; spec. of a disease: dispersed or spread throughout an organ, a tissue, or the whole body.
| 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. iii. ii. §17 Neither can I see how a disseminated vacuity can solve the difficulty. 1742 Young Nt. Th. vi. 180 The least Of these disseminated orbs, how great! 1876 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 25 Nov. 675/2 (heading) A case of disseminated insular sclerosis. 1886 A. Winchell Geol. Field 295 To trace the train of events back to a disseminated cosmical dust. 1906 Lancet 17 Nov. 1351/1 A man suffering from Disseminated Sclerosis which resembled tabes dorsalis. 1932 Discovery Apr. 112/1 A single glance at the film gives information concerning creeping paralysis (disseminated sclerosis). 1963 J. H. Burn Drugs, Med. & Man (ed. 2) xviii. 181 Pemphigus and disseminated lupus erythematosus are cured by cortisone. 1964 S. Duke-Elder Parsons' Dis. Eye (ed. 14) xviii. 242 Disseminated choroiditis. In this type, small areas of inflammation are scattered over the greater part of the fundus behind the equator. Ibid. xxiii. 349 Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. |