a Having the ability or tendency to absorb; able to soak up liquid easily; absorptive. (defdate|First attested in the early 18th century.)(reference-book | last =| first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | editor =Brown, Lesley | others = | title = The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary | origdate = | origyear = 1933| origmonth = | url = | format = | accessdate = | accessyear = | accessmonth = | edition = 5th | date = | year =2003| month = | publisher =Oxford University Press | location =Oxford, UK | language = | id = | doi = | isbn =978-0-19-860575-7 | lccn = | ol = | pages =9| chapter = | chapterurl = | quote =)
n Anything which absorbs. (defdate|First attested in the early 18th century.)
n (physiology|pluralized|nowadays|rare) The vessels by which the processes of absorption are carried on, as the lymphatics in animals, the extremities of the roots in plants. (defdate|First attested in the mid 18th century.)