digestion

Noun

WordNet 3.0

Noun (3)

  1. the process of decomposing organic matter (as in sewage) by bacteria or by chemical action or heat
  2. the organic process by which food is converted into substances that can be absorbed into the body
  3. learning and coming to understand ideas and information“his appetite for facts was better than his digestion”
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Digestion \Di*ges"tion\ (?; 106), n. [F. digestion, L. digestio.]

1.The act or process of digesting; reduction to order; classification; thoughtful consideration. [1913 Webster]

2.(Physiol.) The conversion of food, in the stomach and intestines, into soluble and diffusible products, capable of being absorbed by the blood. [1913 Webster]

3.(Med.) Generation of pus; suppuration. [1913 Webster]

The Devil's Dictionary

DIGESTION, n. The conversion of victuals into virtues. When the process is imperfect, vices are evolved instead -- a circumstance from which that wicked writer, Dr. Jeremiah Blenn, infers that the ladies are the greater sufferers from dyspepsia.
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