English
absorbent
Absorbent comes from Latin absorbēns ‘absorbing, submerging’, from sorbeō ‘to suck in, drink up’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*srebʰ-‘to sip, gulp, suck (in)’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*srobʰéyeti‘to be sipping, sucking’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sorβeō‘to suck in’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsorbeō‘to suck in, drink up’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabsorbeō‘absorb’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabsorbēns‘absorbing, submerging’present active participle of absorbeō
- Englishearliest quotation 1839absorbent
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*srebʰ-‘to sip, gulp, suck (in)’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*srobʰéyeti‘to be sipping, sucking’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sorβeō‘to suck in’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsorbeō‘to suck in, drink up’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabsorbeō‘absorb’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabsorbēns‘absorbing, submerging’present active participle of absorbeō
- Englishearliest quotation 1839absorbent
Earliest quotation: 1839, Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle: “In the Southern Ocean the winter is not so…”
Equivalent to absorb + -ent
Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ- ‘to sip’
…
Latin sorbeō ‘suck in, swallow’
Latin absorbeō ‘swallow up’
Old French assorbir
Middle French absorber
English absorb
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ- ‘to sip, gulp, suck (in)’
through Proto-Italic *sorβeō ‘to suck in’
malabsorption, reabsorption, 22 more
through Latin sorbeō ‘to suck in, drink up’
through Latin absorbeō ‘absorb’
Today it means
adj Having the ability or tendency to absorb; able to soak up liquid easily; absorptive.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ- / absorbent