sorb

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“
He spoke and cut men in two, like a sorb-apple which is halved for pickling, or as you might divide an egg with a hair; and as he cut them one after another, he bade Apollo give the face and the half of the neck a turn in order that the man might contemplate the section of himself: he would thus learn a lesson of humility.

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. transitive verb To take up and hold, as by absorption or adsorption.
  2. noun Any of several Old World trees of the genus Sorbus in the rose family, as the service tree or the rowan.
  3. noun The fruit of any of these plants.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (2)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (2)

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Examples (44)

  • Ab-sorb'ing, engaging the attention entirely. —  McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader
  • In Iceland it is commonly said that when innocent persons are put to death the sorb or mountain ash will spring up over their graves. —  The Folk-lore of Plants
  • He spoke and cut men in two, like a sorb-apple which is halved for pickling, or as you might divide an egg with a hair; and as he cut them one after another, he bade Apollo give the face and the half of the neck a turn in order that the man might contemplate the section of himself: he would thus learn a lesson of humility. —  Symposium
  • Is it so extremely complex She spoke in a rich, lingering, musical voice, which delighted him to listen to No, but you have no breve Well, but haven't I a sorb, which is better?" —  A Voyage to Arcturus
  • If you attempt to pass through Ifdawn without a sorb, you are simply committing suicide. —  A Voyage to Arcturus
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This word has been looked up 61 times.

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Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. Back-formation from absorb and adsorb.
  2. French sorbe, sorb fruit, from Old French sourbe, from Vulgar Latin *sorba, from Latin sorbum.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Early modern English sorbe, from Old French sorbe, French sorbe, dial. sourbe = Spanish sorba, serba = Portuguese sorva = Italian sorbo, sorba = Dutch sorbe = Polish sorba, from Latin sorbus, the sorb-tree, sorbum, the fruit of the sorb-tree: see Sorbus. Cf. serve (a doublet of sorb) and service.
 

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/sɔrb/
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