Endosmosis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The movement of a fluid inward across a semipermeable membrane toward a region of higher solute concentration
2. Passage of water or solvent into a cell or vessel through a membrane, driven by differences in concentration
3. The inward diffusion of a liquid through a porous or selectively permeable barrier to equalize solute levels

Etymology: Endosmosis is a compound built from "endo-", from Ancient Greek "éndon" meaning "within," and "osmosis," from Greek "ōsmos" meaning "a push" or "impulse." The pairing describes a flow inward: where osmosis names the movement of fluid through a membrane, endosmosis names the same movement directed into a cell or vessel, as opposed to the outward flow called exosmosis. The "endo-" element is one of the most productive prefixes in scientific English, appearing in words such as "endoscope" and "endocrine," which is why it is easy to see at a glance that the word concerns something happening inside. The root "éndon" itself traces back to a very old Indo-European base meaning "in the house," a reminder that many interior words began with the idea of a dwelling.

Antonyms: exosmosis