n.
Pronunciation: äz- ' m ō -s ə s, äs-
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin, short for endosmosis
Date: 1867
1 : movement of a solvent (as water) through a semipermeable membrane (as of a living cell) into a solution of higher solute concentration that tends to equalize the concentrations of solute on the two sides of the membrane
2 : a process of absorption or diffusion suggestive of the flow of osmotic action especially : a usually effortless often unconscious assimilation <learned a number of languages by osmosis ― Roger Kimball>