Why is it the "absorb" ends in b but "absorption" has a p in it?

Because English is a stupid f’ing language.

or because absorBtion just doesn’t sound as good.
i am waiting for the gail to tell us the real reason

To trick us and embarass us infront of others.

The Gail has closed her language clinic for the night.

So, in other words, you have no idea.

because thats the way god made it.

So AstroChuck will have something to ponder?
How come you can be disgruntled but not gruntled?

Actually, AC, yet another gold star, that is a VERY good question.

I should know something about disgruntled. I’m a postman. And don’t get me started on flammable and inflammable.

@ AC – you mean inflammAble. :)

Our postman is very gruntled because we have an NDCBU that opens from the front. It makes life much easier for him.

I clean it for him once a year, no kidding. More often if the pigeons have their way.

Astro: you must never put words into my mouth :-d . PnL got it, I think. The b sound next to the t sound is hard for the English-speaking palate, tongue and voice box. If superb was a verb, its noun would clearly be superption, suburb* would be suburption, etc. However, burp has me stymied.

Sorry. I meant no disrespect. I think of you as Fluther royalty. I used to teach English, although that was some time ago. Can’t say I’ve heard of the word suburption though. Can you use it in a sentence?

Joking, ducks. I invented superption, suburption, and possibly The Color Burple.

The irregular parts of our language are odd, as we know. Little kids try to make all verbs regular; hence; I brang my blankie, or the bee stanged me.

Tottering to bed. Or to bep.

It’s because the words are borrowed from Latin and retain some features of Latin morphophonology.
Latin absorbēre, past participle absorptus, noun absorptio

@gailcalled “burption?