osmosis

See also: ósmosis

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ὠσμός (ōsmós, “push”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɒzˈməʊsɪs/, /ɒsˈməʊsɪs/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɑzˈmoʊsɪs/, /ɑsˈmoʊsɪs/
• Rhymes: -əʊsɪs

Noun

osmosis (countable and uncountable, plural osmoses)

1. The net movement of solvent molecules, usually water, from a region of lower solute concentration to a region of higher solute concentration through a partially permeable membrane.
2. Act of picking up knowledge accidentally, without actually seeking that particular knowledge.

   I was reading about chickens, and I guess I learned about hawks through osmosis.

   • 1999, Neil Gaiman, Stardust, pages 36-37 (2001 Perennial paperback edition)

     At age fourteen, by a process of osmosis, of dirty jokes, whispered secrets and filthy ballads, Tristram learned of sex.

Derived terms

• electroosmosis
• endosmosis
• exosmosis

Related terms

• osmotic
• osmose

Translations

movement of molecules

• Arabic: خَاصِّيَّة أُسْمُوزِيَّة‎ f (ḵāṣṣiyya(t) ʾusmūziyya, ḵāṣṣiyya(t) ʾusmōziyya), تَنَاضُح‎ m (tanāḍuḥ)
• Asturian: ósmosis f
• Bengali: অভিস্রবণ (ôbhiśrôbôn)
• Bulgarian: осмоза f (osmoza)
• Catalan: osmosi f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 渗透 (zh) (shèntòu)

• Czech: osmóza f
• Danish: osmose (da) c
• Dutch: osmose (nl) f
• Esperanto: osmozo
• Finnish: osmoosi (fi)
• French: ^{(please verify)} osmose (fr) f
• Galician: osmose (gl) f
• German: ^{(please verify)} Osmose (de) f
• Greek: ώσμωση (el) (ósmosi)
• Gujarati: અભિસરણ (abhisraṇ)
• Hindi: परासरण (parāsraṇ)
• Hungarian: ozmózis (hu)
• Icelandic: himnuflæði

• Indonesian: osmosis (id)
• Irish: osmóis f
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} osmosi (it) f
• Japanese: 浸透 (ja) (shintou)
• Korean: 삼투 (ko) (samtu)
• Malayalam: വൃതിവ്യാപനം (ml) (vr̥tivyāpanaṃ)
• Maori: rerewai
• Persian: اسمز‎ (osmoz)
• Polish: osmoza f
• Portuguese: osmose (pt)
• Russian: о́смос (ru) m (ósmos)
• Shona: musenerera
• Spanish: ósmosis (es) f
• Swedish: osmos (sv) c
• Tagalog: pananagos
• Tamil: சவ்வூடு பரவல் (ta) (cavvūṭu paraval), பிரசாரணம் (piracāraṇam)
• Telugu: ద్రవాభిసరణం (te) (dravābhisaraṇaṁ)
• Thai: การออสโมสิส
• Vietnamese: sự thẩm thấu

picking up knowledge accidentally

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 耳濡目染 (zh) (ěrrúmùrǎn)

• Finnish: samalla (fi) (adverb: through osmosis)

• Polish: osmoza f
• Portuguese: osmose (pt) f