different between infusion vs diffusion

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French infusion, from Latin infusio, infusionem (“a pouring into, a wetting, a dyeing, a flow”), from infundo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?fju???n/
• Rhymes: -u???n

Noun

infusion (countable and uncountable, plural infusions)

1. A product consisting of a liquid which has had other ingredients steeped in it to extract useful qualities.

   An extract of rooibos and chamomile makes a refreshing infusion.

2. The act of steeping or soaking a substance in liquid so as to extract medicinal or herbal qualities.
3. The act of installing a quality into a person.
   • 1602 : William Shakespeare, Hamlet, act V scene 1

     [...] but in the verity of extolment / I take him to be a soul of great article and his infusion / of such dearth and rareness as, to make true diction of / him, his semblable in his mirror, and who else would / trace him, his umbrage, nothing more.

4. (obsolete) The act of dipping into a fluid.
5. (medicine) The administration of liquid substances directly into a vein for medical purposes; perfusion.

Related terms

• infuse

Translations

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin inf?si?, inf?si?nem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.fy.zj??/

Noun

infusion f (plural infusions)

1. infusion (liquid product which has had other ingredients steeped in it to extract useful qualities)

Synonyms

• (liquid product): décoction, tisane

Further reading

• “infusion” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin diffusionem (accusative of diffusio), from diffund?; can be decomposed as diffuse +? -ion.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??fju???n/
• Rhymes: -u???n

Noun

diffusion (countable and uncountable, plural diffusions)

1. The act of diffusing or dispersing something, or the property of being diffused or dispersed; dispersion.
2. (physics) The scattering of light by reflection from a rough surface, or by passage through a translucent medium.
3. (physics) The intermingling of the molecules of a fluid due to random thermal agitation.
4. The spread of cultural or linguistic practices, or social institutions, in one or more communities.
5. (marketing) The gradual spread and adoption of goods or services.
6. (physics, weather) Exchange of airborne media between regions in space in an apparently random motion of a small scale.
7. The movement of water vapor from regions of high concentration (high water vapor pressure) toward regions of lower concentration.

Translations

See also

• diffuser

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin diffusio, diffusionem. Synchronically analysable as diffuser +? -ion.

Noun

diffusion f (plural diffusions)

1. broadcasting, showing
2. dissemination, diffusion (of culture, knowledge, etc.)
3. circulation (of a news medium)
4. (physics) diffusion

Derived terms

• liste de diffusion

Related terms

• diffus
• diffuser

See also

• émission

Further reading

• “diffusion” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).