Hypertext Webster Gateway: "absorbent"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Absorbent \Ab*sorb"ent\, a. [L. absorbens, p. pr. of absorbere.]
Absorbing; swallowing; absorptive.
{Absorbent ground} (Paint.), a ground prepared for a picture,
chiefly with distemper, or water colors, by which the oil
is absorbed, and a brilliancy is imparted to the colors.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Absorbent \Ab*sorb"ent\, n.
1. Anything which absorbs.
The ocean, itself a bad absorbent of heat. --Darwin.
2. (Med.) Any substance which absorbs and neutralizes acid
fluid in the stomach and bowels, as magnesia, chalk, etc.;
also a substance e. g., iodine) which acts on the
absorbent vessels so as to reduce enlarged and indurated
parts.
3. pl. (Physiol.) The vessels by which the processes of
absorption are carried on, as the lymphatics in animals,
the extremities of the roots in plants.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
absorbent
adj : having power or capacity or tendency to absorb or soak up
(liquids); "as absorbent as a sponge" [syn: {absorptive}]
[ant: {nonabsorbent}]
n : a material having capacity or tendency to absorb another
substance [syn: {absorbent material}]
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