EtymologyMap
Back to all words

Trace the journey of words

Today it means

absorb

to soak up

Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate

Where does the word "absorb" come from? It comes from Latin absorbere, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "absorb" come from? It comes from Latin absorbere, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

Absorb’s story begins in Latin: absorbere meant “to swallow up.” 'ab-' plus 'sorbere', to suck in. It reached English by 1400s as absorb. Came into English through French 'absorber' and first appears in a 1490 translation from French by the printer William Caxton; 'absorbed' in thought dates from the 1700s. Today, absorb means to soak up.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient absorbere "to swallow up", 'ab-' plus 'sorbere', to suck in.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1400s absorb "to swallow", came into English through French 'absorber' and first appears in a 1490 translation from French by the printer William Caxton; 'absorbed' in thought dates from the 1700s.

Browse by origin