The story behind “sponge”, from its beginnings to its meaning today. #words #vocabulary
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THE STORY STARTS HERE: Where did “sponge” come from?. Old English sponge or spunge came from Latin spongia and ultimately Greek spongia or spongos. The Greek word's earlier origin is unknown. It named both the aquatic animal and the porous material obtained from it long before synthetic cleaning sponges existed.
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THE CONNECTION: How the word got here. A traditional bath sponge is the cleaned flexible skeleton of certain marine animals, so the animal gave its name to the absorbent tool. Absorption then generated metaphors: people sponge up knowledge, while a person who lives at another's expense can be called a sponge.
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THE WORD: “sponge”. Say it: /spʌnd͡ʒ/ Meaning: Wipe with a sponge, so as to clean or moisten.
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PUT IT TO USE: “sponge”. Can you use this word in a sentence? Try one in the comments.
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PLAY LEXIFOUR: Try five more words. Play the free daily vocabulary game at lexifour.com. Follow for more word stories.