D defs.my
Entry 2 senses Webster, 1913

Dispersion

/dĭs-pẽrzh'-ən/ · Dis·per·sion · IPA /dɪˈspɝʒən/
01 n. The act or process of scattering or dispersing, or the state of being scattered or separated; as, the Jews in their dispersion retained the…
  1. 1.
    The act or process of scattering or dispersing, or the state of being scattered or separated; as, the Jews in their dispersion retained their rites and ceremonies; a great dispersion of the human family took place at the building of Babel.
    “The days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished.” — Jer. xxv. 34.
  2. 2.
    The separation of light into its different colored rays, arising from their different refrangibilities.(Opt.)
Phrases & compounds
Dispersion of the optic axes — the separation of the optic axes in biaxial crystals, due to the fact that the axial angle has different values for the different colors of the spectrum.