sponge

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English sponge, from Old English spunge, taken from Latin spongia, from Ancient Greek σπογγιά (spongiá), from σπόγγος (spóngos). === Pronunciation === enPR: spŭnj, IPA(key): /spʌnd͡ʒ/ Rhymes: -ʌndʒ === Noun === sponge (countable and uncountable, plural sponges) (countable) Any of various marine invertebrates of the phylum Porifera, that have a porous skeleton often of silica. Synonyms: sea sponge, bath sponge, poriferan, porifer (countable) A piece of porous material used for washing (originally made from the invertebrates, now often made of plastic). Synonym: bath sponge (uncountable) The porous material that synthetic washing sponges are made of. (informal) A heavy drinker. Synonyms: souse, swill-pot; see also Thesaurus:drunkard (countable, uncountable) A type of light cake. Synonym: sponge cake (countable, uncountable, UK) A type of steamed pudding. Synonym: sponge pudding (slang) A person who takes advantage of the generosity of others (abstractly imagined to absorb or soak up the money or efforts of others like a sponge). Synonyms: freeloader, sponger; see also Thesaurus:scrounger A person who readily absorbs ideas. (countable) A form of contraception that is inserted vaginally; a contraceptive sponge. Any sponge-like substance. (baking) Dough before it is kneaded and formed into loaves, and after it is converted into a light, spongy mass by the agency of the yeast or leaven. Iron from the puddling furnace, in a pasty condition. Iron ore, in masses, reduced but not melted or worked. A mop for cleaning the bore of a cannon after a discharge. It consists of a cylinder of wood, covered with sheepskin with the wool on, or cloth with a heavy looped nap, and having a handle, or staff. The extremity, or point, of a horseshoe, corresponding to the heel. (slang) A nuclear power plant worker routinely exposed to radiation. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== → Cornish: spong → Hindi: स्पंज (spañj) → Japanese: スポンジ (suponji) → Korean: 스펀지 (seupeonji) → Pashto: سپنج (spanj) → Welsh: sbynj → Malay: span ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== foam === Verb === sponge (third-person singular simple present sponges, present participle sponging, simple past and past participle sponged) (intransitive, slang) To take advantage of the kindness of others. (transitive, intransitive with on or upon) To get by imposition; to scrounge. Synonym: blag July 17 1735, Jonathan Swift, letter to Lord Ornery I am an utter stranger to the persons and places, except when half a score come to sponge on me every Sunday evening (transitive) To deprive (somebody) of something by imposition. To clean, soak up, or dab with a sponge. To suck in, or imbibe, like a sponge. To wipe out with a sponge, as letters or writing; to efface; to destroy all trace of. (intransitive, baking) To be converted, as dough, into a light, spongy mass by the agency of yeast or leaven. (marine biology, of dolphins) To use a piece of wild sponge as a tool when foraging for food. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === Sponge (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia === Anagrams === pengos, pengős