diffract

From Latin diffractus (“past participle of diffringo (“to shatter, to break into pieces”)”).

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

diffract (third-person singular simple present diffracts, present participle diffracting, simple past and past participle diffracted)

1. (transitive) To cause diffraction
   • 1963, Lester del Rey, The Sky Is Falling:

     Dave frowned as he tried to answer. "Well, I suppose the atmosphere is oxygen and nitrogen, mostly; then there's the ionosphere and the ozone layer. As I remember, the color of the sky is due to the scattering of light—light rays being diffracted in the air."

2. (intransitive) To undergo diffraction