English → Latin
“absorb” in Latin
absorbeōto swallow down, devour; to absorb, submerge; to absorb, engrossexsorbeōto suck up, out or in, gulp down, drain; exhaust; to swallow up, destroydēvorōto swallow, gulp down, or devour; enjoy; to swallow down, repress, suppress, check, bear with patience; to absorbexhauriōto draw out, empty by drawing, deplete; to exhaust, drain off, take out, use up, deplete, empty out, make empty; to takeoccupātiōseizing, occupying (taking possession); occupation, employment; trouble, unrest
The English word absorb itself goes back to Latin sorbeō, through absorbeō.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
absorb
absorbere (swallow up anything, whether dry or liquid): exsorbere (to suck up): devorare (of solids): exhaurire (to absorb part of a larger body). Figuratively, to occupy the whole of, absorbere (e.g., of a speech; a man’s attention). To be absorbed in a business, in negotio aliquo versari: negotio implicatum esse. To be absorbed in business, occupatissimum esse: multis negotiis (occupationibus) implicitum esse; valde negotiosum esse; multis occupationibus distineri. The interest absorbs the capital, usurae sortem mergunt, Liv.
To appropriate to one’s self, exsorbere (e. g, the booty, praedas).
To absorb a color, colorem bibere: imbibere (to drink it in).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for absorb?
- The usual Latin words for “absorb” are absorbeō, exsorbeō, dēvorō; also exhauriō, occupātiō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.