The word "disseminate" comes from the Latin verb dissēmināre, meaning "to scatter seeds" or "to spread abroad".   It combines the prefix dis- meaning "in every direction" with seminare, "to plant, propagate," which is derived from semen, the Latin word for "seed". The word entered English around the mid-15th century to describe the act of scattering something, like seeds, for growth and propagation.  

According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the verb disseminate was first used in English in the early 1600s, with the earliest evidence from 1603, appearing in a translation by Philemon Holland. 

The difference between the words disseminate and distribute is as follows: disseminate means to widely spread or broadcast information, ideas, or knowledge, often with the goal of gaining awareness and uptake, like the sowing of seeds.  Distribute means to issue or share physical items or abstract content to many people with a focus on the efficient delivery of products to their users. 

Examples of "disseminate" in a sentence: 
"That's our job, is to disseminate information to the public."  
"Websites are not only used to disseminate information and propaganda." 
"They started to disseminate what they had learned to others." 
"It was my job to disseminate research findings about colorectal cancer." 
"Since, moreover, it is believed that at least five species of Glossina are carriers of nagana, it may well be that all tsetse-flies can disseminate both nagana and sleeping sickness."

Just the facts:

DISSEMINATE Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

DISSEMINATE Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words | Merriam-Webster Thesaurus