Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1800-1900
Origin: osmose 'osmosis' (1800-1900), from Greek osmos 'push'

osmosis

 noun
     
Related topics: Hard Science, Chemistry
os‧mo‧sis [uncountable]
1 if you learn facts or understand ideas by osmosis, you gradually learn them by hearing them often
by osmosis
Children learn new languages by osmosis.
He seems to absorb information through a process of osmosis.
2 technicalHC the gradual process of liquid passing through a membrane
—osmotic adjective
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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