1670s, "soaking up, swallowing," present-participle adjective in a figurative sense from absorb (v.). Originally in medicine. Figurative sense of "engrossing" is by 1826. Related: Absorbingly.
late 15c., "act or process of making lean or thin," from Latin macerationem (nominative maceratio) "a steeping, soaking; a making soft or tender," noun of action from past-participle stem of macerare "to make soft or tender; soften by steeping or soaking;" in transferred sense "to weaken" in body or mind, "to waste away, enervate" (see macerate). Meaning "act or process of almost dissolving by steeping in a fluid" is from 1610s.
late 15c., "soften and separate by steeping in a fluid," a back-formation from maceration, or else from Latin maceratus, past participle of macerare "to make soft or tender; soften by steeping or soaking;" in transferred sense "to weaken" in body or mind, "to waste away, enervate," which is related to maceria "garden wall," originally "of kneaded clay," probably from PIE *mak-ero-, suffixed form of root *mag- "to knead, fashion, fit," but there are phonetic difficulties. Related: Macerated; macerating.
1854, "drinking bout," also (v.) "drink heavily, soak up alcohol;" dialectal use of binge "soak" (a wooden vessel). Said to have been originally as a dialect word: Binge is noted in Evans' "Leicestershire Words, Phrases and Proverbs" (London, 1848) as a dialect verb for "To soak in water a wooden vessel, that would otherwise leak," to make the wood swell. He adds that it was extended locally to excessive drinking ("soaking"). Sense extended c. World War I to include eating as well as drinking. Binge-watching is from 1996. Related: Binged; bingeing.
type of rum-based Cuban cocktail, by 1946, from Cuban Spanish, a diminutive of mojo, a word for certain sauces and marinades; Ayto ("Diner's Dictionary") considers it to be "probably a reapplication of the Spanish adjective mojo 'wet,'" from mojar "to moisten, make wet," from Vulgar Latin *molliare"to soften by soaking," from Latin mollire "to soften" (see emollient).
MOJITO
I don't know who originated this one, but every bar in the West Indies serves it, practically every rum recipe booklet gives the formula for it, so my little collection of rum drinks would hardly be complete without it. Such popularity must be deserved, and it is. It's a swell drink! ["Trader Vic's Book of Food and Drink," 1946]
