Etymology

absorptive

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Today it means: Having power, capacity, or tendency to absorb or imbibe; absorbent. Full definition →

First used First attested in the mid 17ᵗʰ century.English absorb ← Middle French absorber ← Old French assorbir
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ep
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂epó
  3. Proto-Italic*ap
  4. Latinab
  5. Latinab-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*srebʰ-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*srobʰéyeti
  8. Proto-Italic*sorβeō
  9. Latinsorbeō
  10. Latinabsorbeō
  11. Old Frenchassorbir
  12. Middle Frenchabsorber
  13. Englishabsorb
  14. English todayabsorptive

From absorb + -tive.

First known use, by meaning

  • First attested in the mid 17ᵗʰ century. Having power, capacity, or tendency to absorb or imbibe; absorbent.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.