Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
 
Help
Related Searches
Nearby Words

sorb

 - 9 dictionary results

sorb

1  [sawrb] ,
Use sorb in a Sentence
–noun
1. a European tree, Sorbus domestica.
2. Also called sorb apple. the fruit of this tree.
Origin:
1520–30; < L sorbum serviceberry and sorbus service tree

Related forms:
sorbic, adjective

sorb

2  [sawrb] ,
–verb (used with object) Chemistry.
to gather on a surface either by absorption, adsorption, or a combination of the two processes.
Origin:
1905–10; extracted from absorb and adsorb

Related forms:
sorb⋅a⋅ble, adjective
sorb⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun

Sorb

  [sawrb] ,
–noun
a Wend.
Origin:
1835–45; < G Sorbe ≪ Lusatian serbje, serbjo
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To sorb
sorb 1   (sôrb)   
tr.v.   sorbed, sorb·ing, sorbs
To take up and hold, as by absorption or adsorption.

[Back-formation from absorb and adsorb.]
sorb'a·bil'i·ty n., sorb'a·ble adj., sorb'ent adj. & n.
sorb 2   (sôrb)   
n.  

  1. Any of several Old World trees of the genus Sorbus in the rose family, as the service tree or the rowan.

  2. The fruit of any of these plants.


[French sorbe, sorb fruit, from Old French sourbe, from Vulgar Latin *sorba, from Latin sorbum.]
Sorb   (sôrb)   
n.  A member of a Slavic people inhabiting the region of Lusatia in eastern Germany and southwest Poland. Also called Wend.

[German Sorbe, perhaps variant of Serbe, Serb, from Serbian Srb, Serb.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

Sorb 
1836 (implied in Sorbian), from Ger. Sorbe, from Slavic Serb, the national designation. Slavic people surviving in Lusatia, eastern Saxony, also known as Wends.

sorb 
"fruit of the service tree," 1530, from Fr. sorbe, from L. sorbum "service-berry" (small, edible fruit of the European mountain ash), from sorbus, from PIE base *sor-/*ser- "red, reddish-brown." Hence sorbic acid (1815), so called because it was first isolated from these berries.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: sorb
Pronunciation: 'sorb
Function: transitive verb
: to take up and hold by either adsorption or absorption
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see sorb on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way