absorber
/əbˈzɔːbə/uhb-ZAWR-bur
/əbˈzɔɹbɚ/uhb-ZAWR-bur
Meaningone that swallows up
Common meaning: a person or thing that absorbs
- abaway, off
- sorbto suck in, swallow downLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1731 · scan
- eragent ending: one who
‘away, off’ + ‘to suck in, swallow down’ → absorber
Journey through time
- Latinsorbeō, sorbuī‘to suck in, swallow down’
- Englishabsorb‘to soak up’
- Englishformed in English from absorbabsorber‘a person or thing that absorbs’ · today
Sources & notes
Inferred source: no dictionary we use has an entry for this exact word. Its history is worked out from closely related, listed words in the same family, and we are trusting that link, so bear that in mind. Inferred meaning: one that swallows up. It can be inferred from any of: absorb.
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from absorb + -er (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).
Roots
- sorbeō, sorbuī Latin “to suck in, swallow down”
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