Absorb
/əbˈsɔːrb/noun
To take in or soak up a liquid, energy, information, or attention.
Did you know?Absorb comes from Latin absorbēre, literally “to suck in,” and the same ancient root behind sorb also lives on in words like sorbent and adsorb, both tied to the physics of taking something in.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ser-
“to suck, sip, or draw in”
Latin
Latin
sorbere
“to suck up, swallow, or gulp down”
Latin
Latin
absorbere
“to suck in, swallow up”
Old French
Old French
absorber
“to consume or draw in”
Middle English
English
absorben
“to take in or swallow up”
Modern English
English
absorb
“to take in, soak up, or fully engage the mind”