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absorbere

Absorbere is a Latin verb meaning to absorb, take in, swallow, or devour. It is formed from the prefix ab- meaning away and sorbere meaning to suck up or drink up, conveying the sense of drawing a substance or quality into a receptacle or into the subject. In classical usage, the sense ranges from the literal uptake of liquids to more figurative meanings such as absorbing attention, memory, or study.

In Latin literature, absorbere appears in both prose and poetry to describe physical uptake—such as a sponge

Derivative and linguistic influence: Absorbere gave rise to the English verb absorb and the noun absorption.

See also: Absorption (general concept), Absorption spectrum. Etymology traces the word to Latin roots linked with

absorbing
water—and
to
express
mental
or
affective
processes,
where
a
person
or
thing
absorbs
information,
influence,
or
passion.
The
verb
is
treated
as
a
regular
verb
of
its
class
and
occurs
across
tenses
and
moods
in
works
from
different
periods
of
Roman
writing,
reflecting
its
broad
applicability
in
description
and
argument.
It
also
has
cognates
in
many
Romance
languages,
including
Italian
assorbire,
French
absorber,
Spanish
absorber,
and
Portuguese
absorver,
all
sharing
the
core
semantic
field
of
uptake
or
assimilation.
In
scientific
and
technical
contexts,
the
term
and
its
descendants
are
used
to
denote
uptake
by
a
material
(as
in
absorption
of
a
substance
by
a
medium),
the
attenuation
of
radiation,
or
the
transfer
of
energy
into
matter.
drawing
in
a
substance
or
quality.