'diaspore' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'διασπορά (diasporá)', where the prefix 'διά (dia-)' meant 'apart' and the root 'σπείρειν (speirein)' meant 'to scatter' or 'to sow'.

'diaspore' was formed in scientific usage from Neo-Latin/Greek 'diaspora/diasporā' and entered English usage in botanical contexts in the 19th century; later it was adopted in mineralogy to name the aluminium hydroxide mineral.

Initially it referred to the general idea of 'a scattering' or 'that which is scattered', but over time it became a technical term for a plant's dispersal unit and, separately, the name of a specific mineral.