Adsorber

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A material or substance that draws and holds molecules of a gas or liquid onto its surface through adsorption
2. Any substance capable of taking up and retaining other molecules or particles on its outer layer by physical or chemical means
3. A porous or solid material used to extract and concentrate gases, liquids, or dissolved substances by bonding them to its surface

Etymology: "Adsorber" is a plain formation: the verb "adsorb" with the agent suffix "-er" attached, meaning a thing or device that adsorbs. The suffix itself has a long pedigree. It descends from Latin "-ārius", which passed through Old French "-ier" into Middle English, and survived into English as "-er". Old English "-ere" was an earlier native form of the same suffix, so the ending has been part of English for well over a thousand years, long before anyone was adsorbing anything. The verb "adsorb" is the more specialised half. It sets "ad-" ("to" or "onto") against "sorb" (to soak up), so the sense is taking substances onto a surface rather than absorbing them into the bulk of a material. An adsorber, then, is a substance or apparatus that holds molecules on its outer surface, as activated charcoal does in water filters. The distinction from "absorb" is the whole point of the word, and the prefix carries it.

Synonyms: adsorbent