'adsorb' originates from the Latin word 'adsorbere', where 'ad-' meant 'toward' and 'sorbere' meant 'to suck in'.

'adsorbere' transformed into the German word 'adsorbieren', and eventually became the modern English word 'adsorb'.

Initially, it meant 'to suck in or absorb', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'to hold molecules on a surface'.