Etymograph

English

absorption

Absorption comes from Latin absorptiō ‘a sucking in’, from absorbeō ‘absorb’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ- ‘to sip, gulp, suck (in)’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*srebʰ-1‘to sip, gulp, suck (in)’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*srobʰéyeti1‘to be sipping, sucking’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sorβeō1‘to suck in’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsorbeō1‘to suck in, drink up’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabsorbeō1‘absorb’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabsorptiō1‘a sucking in’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1934absorption1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English absorption
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1934, Ernest Bramah: “A complete absorption testified their breathless interest.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*srebʰ-Wiktionary, English absorption‘to sip, gulp, suck (in)’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*srobʰéyetiWiktionary, English absorption‘to be sipping, sucking’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sorβeōWiktionary, English absorption‘to suck in’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsorbeōWiktionary, English absorption‘to suck in, drink up’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabsorbeōWiktionary, English absorption‘absorb’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabsorptiōWiktionary, English absorption‘a sucking in’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1934absorptionWiktionary, English absorption. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1934, Ernest Bramah: “A complete absorption testified their breathless interest.”

Formed from absorb + -tion

Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ- ‘to sip’

…

Latin sorbeō ‘suck in, swallow’

Latin absorbeō ‘swallow up’

Old French assorbir

Middle French absorber

English absorb

first attested First attested in 1597 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in 1597.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ- ‘to sip, gulp, suck (in)’

slurp, 25 more

through Latin absorbeō ‘absorb’

absorbent, 18 more

Today it means

noun The act or process of absorbing or of being absorbed as,

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “absorption”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ- / absorption

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