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sorb1

[sawrb]
noun
  1. a European tree, Sorbus domestica.
  2. Also called sorb apple. the fruit of this tree.
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Origin of sorb1

1520–30; < Latin sorbum serviceberry and sorbus service tree
Related formssorb·ic, adjective

sorb2

[sawrb]
verb (used with object) Chemistry.
  1. to gather on a surface either by absorption, adsorption, or a combination of the two processes.
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Origin of sorb2

1905–10; extracted from absorb and adsorb
Related formssorb·a·ble, adjectivesorb·a·bil·i·ty, noun

Sorb

[sawrb]
noun
  1. a Wend.
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Origin of Sorb

1835–45; < German Sorbe ≪ Lusatian serbje, serbjo
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sorb

Historical Examples

  • On his forehead there were two flat membranes, like rudimentary eyes, but no sorb.

    A Voyage to Arcturus

    David Lindsay

  • Maskull lingered no longer, but permitted Spadevil to cover his sorb.

  • Sorb, sorb, n. one of a Slavonic race in Saxony and the neighbouring parts of Prussia.

  • If you attempt to pass through Ifdawn without a sorb, you are simply committing suicide.

  • Spadevil pressed his hand on her sorb and kept it there for a few minutes, while he closed his own eyes.

British Dictionary definitions for sorb

sorb

noun
  1. another name for service tree (def. 1)
  2. any of various related trees, esp the mountain ash
  3. Also called: sorb apple the fruit of any of these trees
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Derived Formssorbic, adjective

Word Origin

C16: from Latin sorbus the sorb, service tree

Sorb

noun
  1. a member of a Slavonic people living chiefly in the rural areas of E Germany between the upper reaches of the Oder and Elbe rivers (Lusatia)Also called: Wend, Lusatian
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sorb

Sorb

n.

1843, from German Sorbe, from Slavic Serb, the national designation. Slavic people surviving in Lusatia, eastern Saxony, also known as Wends. Related: Sorbian (1836); earlier Sorabian (1788), from Medieval Latin Sorabi.

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n.

"fruit of the service tree," 1520s, from French sorbe, from Latin sorbum "service-berry" (small, edible fruit of the European mountain ash), from sorbus, of uncertain origin.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper