Sponges

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of porous marine organism that filters water for nutrients and can also refer to absorbent materials used for cleaning or bathing
2. Simple aquatic invertebrates that lack true tissues and organ systems, as well as any soft absorbent items commonly used for soaking up liquids
3. Multicellular organisms found in aquatic environments known for their unique structure and filtering capabilities, along with products made from them for various household purposes

Etymology: Sponges are plural of "sponge," so the story is really about the animals and the material they gave their name to. The Greek "spóngos" and its relative "spongiá" referred to the porous skeletons of these marine creatures, which people harvested from the sea and used for bathing and cleaning long before anyone thought of them as animals. Early English had a native word for the same thing, "swamm," which meant "fungus" or "sponge" and is related to the modern word "swamp" in its sense of soaking. The Greek term came into Old English as "spunge," displacing "swamm" and eventually giving us the form used today.

Synonyms: absorbents, pads, wipes