Reabsorb

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To assimilate again or take back materials that have been lost or expelled previously
2. To regain and incorporate substances that were once expelled or removed
3. To take in or recover substances that were expelled earlier

Etymology: The verb "reabsorb" is simply "absorb" with the prefix "re-," meaning "again" or "back." "Absorb" itself came into English from Middle French "absorber," which traces back through Old French "assorbir" to Latin "absorbeo," a compound of "ab-" ("away, off") and "sorbeo" ("to suck in, swallow"). The root "sorbeo" also gave English "sorb," a word for the wild service-tree, and the same ancient Italic ancestor lies behind the Latin verb itself, so the idea of drawing something in is baked into the word from the start. "Re-" is an everyday English prefix taken directly from Latin "re-," so "reabsorb" adds nothing new beyond the sense of taking back what was once let go. Its meaning is literal: a substance that was expelled or removed is drawn in again, as when the body takes back water or nutrients it had released.

Synonyms: reintegrate, recapture

Antonyms: release, disperse