'pigment-absorbent' originates from the combination of 'pigment,' which comes from Latin 'pigmentum,' meaning 'coloring matter,' and 'absorbent,' from Latin 'absorbere,' meaning 'to suck in.'

'Pigmentum' combined with 'absorbere' to form the modern English term 'pigment-absorbent.'

Initially, it referred to any material that could take in color, and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.