Resorptive

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Involving the biological processes that dismantle or take back tissues or substances within an organism
2. Relating to the mechanisms by which the body reclaims or breaks down materials and substances already present
3. Pertaining to the biological functions that involve the breakdown or retrieval of materials and tissues in an organism

Etymology: Resorptive is a straightforward formation, built from the verb "resorb" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-ive". "Resorb" comes from Latin "resorbere", meaning "to swallow up again" or "to suck back", combining "re-", "again" or "back", with "sorbere", "to suck in" or "to swallow". The same Latin root gives English "absorb", which is "ab-" ("away") plus "sorbere", and "sorb" in its older sense of soaking up liquid. The adjective's meaning follows the verb closely. Medical and biological writers use "resorption" for the process by which the body breaks down and reabsorbs material it no longer needs, such as bone tissue that is remodeled, or a tumour or blood clot that shrinks away. "Resorptive" is the adjective for that process, so a "resorptive" capacity is one that takes material back into the body. The term is technical, most common in anatomy, dentistry, and pathology, and its dates in English are not something I can state with confidence.

Synonyms: absorptive, reabsorptive, dissolving, decomposing, breaking down

Antonyms: building, accretive, constructive, growing, developing