In the novel native martians do exist and they are very smart. "Grok" it's the martian word for "water" and "to drink". Water is a scarce resource there, and, like here, very important for life.

Drinking is putting water inside you but also occurs that this water becomes part of you.

Then, in that society, drinking is used as the metaphor for understand something in a level that becomes part of you.

I'm a native spanish speaker and I don't know if that word sounds bad in english, but for me the metaphor is so powerful and beautiful that I like it very much.