scatter

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
scatter/ˈskatə(r)/

▶verb

• 1 throw in various random directions.

  ■ separate or cause to separate and move off in different directions.

  ■ (be scattered) occur or be found at various places rather than all together.

• 2 Physics deflect or diffuse (electromagnetic radiation or particles).

▶noun

• 1 a small, dispersed amount of something.

• 2 Statistics the degree to which repeated measurements or observations of a quantity differ.

– derivatives
scatterer noun,
scattering noun.

– origin ME: prob. a var. of shatter.