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Is there a reason why the verb is ABSORB but in the noun form the B becomes a P---ABSORPTION?

Shlomo Green
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    It's because the ancient Romans couldn't pronounce /bt/ in the middle of words, so absorbtio (derived from the verb absorbeo) turned into absorptio in Latin. See Etymonline – Peter Shor Apr 22 '18 at 17:09
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    It's true that the Romans pronounced it that way, but so do we, and there's a good reason. /bt/ is a consonant cluster that starts out voiced /b/ and ends voiceless /t/. In English and Latin, as in many languages, consonant clusters are preferentially either all voiced or all voiceless, depending on which type is last. In /bt/, voiceless /t/ is last, so the voiced /b/ preceding it goes voiceless to agree with with /t/ in voicing value. The voiceless version of /b/ is /p/, so it turns out that this is the reason for the change -- it's a natural phonetic trait. – John Lawler Apr 22 '18 at 18:21

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Latin; it happens more with three-syllable words, and less common words.

The same thing happens when a scribe writes scripture, or chisels inscriptions.

Hugh
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