absorb
UK[əbˈzɔːb]US[əbˈzɔːrb]
v
to take in a liquid, gas, or other substance
v
to take in information or understand facts
v
to hold someone's attention completely or interest someone greatly
v
to reduce the effect of a physical force, shock, or change
v
to use up a large supply of something, especially money or time
Etymology
the verb 'absorb' entered english in the late 15th century from the middle french 'absorber', which itself descended from the latin 'absorbere'. this latin compound is formed from 'ab-', meaning "from" or "away," and 'sorbere', meaning "to suck in." the core logic is of drawing something in, like a sponge sucking up liquid. the original physical sense of swallowing or engulfing gradually broadened metaphorically to encompass the modern abstract meanings of engrossing one's attention or assimilating information, money, or impact.
Analysis
the word is a simplex form derived from latin. it is not productively segmentable into meaningful substrings in modern english spelling without altering the morphemes (e.g., 'ab' + 'sorb' would require changing 'sorb' to 'sorbere').
Examples
plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
she quickly absorbed the complex details of the report.
the new project will absorb most of the department's budget this year.