Etymology : Middle English, partly from Old English organa, from Latin organum, from Greek organon, literally, tool, instrument; partly from Old French organe, from Latin organum; akin to Greek ergon work; more at WORK
Pronunciation : 'or-g&n
Function : noun
Date : before 12th century
1. organ.
2. internal body part; musical instrument that makes sound by pressing air through a system of graduated pipes; any instrument that makes sound similar to an organ (but without the use of pipes). organ\or"gan\ , n. [l. organum, gr. ; akin to work, and e. work: cf. f. organe. see:
work, and cf. orgue, orgy.].
3. an instrument or medium by which some important action is performed, or an important end accomplished; as, legislatures, courts, armies, taxgatherers, etc., are organs of government.
4. (biol.) a natural part or structure in an animal or a plant, capable of performing some special action (termed its function), which is essential to the life or well-being of the whole; as, the heart, lungs, etc., are organs of animals; the root, stem, foliage, etc., are organs of plants.note: in animals the organs are generally made up of several tissues, one of which usually predominates, and determines the principal function of the organ. groups of organs constitute a system. see:
system.
5. a component part performing an essential office in the working of any complex machine; as, the cylinder, valves, crank, etc., are organs of the steam engine.
6. a medium of communication between one person or body and another; as, the secretary of state is the organ of communication between the government and a foreign power; a newspaper is the organ of its editor, or of a party, sect, etc.
7. [cf. as. organ, fr. l. organum.] (mus.) a wind instrument containing numerous pipes of various dimensions and kinds, which are filled with wind from a bellows, and played upon by means of keys similar to those of a piano, and sometimes by foot keys or pedals; -- formerly used in the plural, each pipe being considired an organ. the deep, majestic, solemn organs blow.note: chaucer used the form orgon as a plural. the merry orgon that in the church goon [go].
8. member. organ.
9. An instrument or medium by which some important action is performed, or an important end accomplished; as, legislatures, courts, armies, taxgatherers, etc., are organs of government.
10. A natural part or structure in an animal or a plant, capable of performing some special action , which is essential to the life or well- being of the whole; as, the heart, lungs, etc., are organs of animals; the root, stem, foliage, etc., are organs of plants.
11. A component part performing an essential office in the working of any complex machine; as, the cylinder, valves, crank, etc., are organs of the steam engine.
12. A medium of communication between one person or body and another; as, the secretary of state is the organ of communication between the government and a foreign power; a newspaper is the organ of its editor, or of a party, sect, etc.
13. A wind instrument containing numerous pipes of various dimensions and kinds, which are filled with wind from a bellows, and played upon by means of keys similar to those of a piano, and sometimes by foot keys or pedals; formerly used in the plural, each pipe being considired an organ.
14. To supply with an organ or organs; to fit with organs; to organize. wind instrument whose sound is produced by means of pipes arranged in sets supplied with air from a bellows and controlled from a large complex musical keyboard a fully differentiated structural and functional unit in an animal that is specialized for some particular function a periodical that is published by a special interest group; "the organ of the communist party" a government agency or instrument devoted to the performance of some specific function; "The Census Bureau is an organ of the Commerce Department".
15. organ, member, agency. organ, member.
16. anat. organ.
17. organ, instrumentality, agency.
18. publication, organ, mouthpiece. organ nakli surg. transplantation of an organ.
19. organ. agency. instrumentality.
20. 1. An organ is a part of your body that has a particular purpose or function, for example your heart or lungs. damage to the muscles and internal organs. the reproductive organs. organ transplants. see also:
sense organ.
21. An organ is a large musical instrument with pipes of different lengths through which air is forced. It has keys and pedals rather like a piano. see also:
barrel organ, mouth organ.
22. You refer to a newspaper or organization as the organ of the government or another group when it is used by them as a means of giving information or getting things done. The Security Service is an important organ of the State = mouthpiece. Keyboard instrument in which pressurized air produces notes by means of a series of tuned pipes. The simplest organs consist of a single rank of pipes, each corresponding to a single key. They are arranged over a wind chest connected to the keys by a set of valves and fed with a supply of air by electrically or mechanically activated bellows. By pulling out knobs, called stops, the player engages new ranks of pipes. Two distinct types of pipes are used: flue pipes (both open and stopped) produce sound by directing air against the edge of an opening in the pipe, whereas reed pipes sound by means of a thin metal tongue inside the pipe that vibrates against a fixed projection next to it. A large organ may have five or more banked keyboards, or manuals, each of which controls a distinctive group of pipes. Most organs also have pedalboards played with the feet. A large organ's pipes may vary in length from about 1 in. to 32 ft (2.5 cm to 10 m), resulting in a huge nine-octave range. The earliest organ ( 250 BC) was the Greek hydraulis, in which the wind was regulated by water pressure. The bellows-fed organ appeared about the 7th century AD. The organ became firmly associated with the church by the 10th century. As organs became widespread, different regions pursued different modes of construction and sought different tonal ideals. The Baroque German organ is ideally suited to polyphony, while the French taste for variety of timbres eventuated in Aristide Cavaillé-Coll's vast "orchestral" organs. See also harmonium. mouth organ reed organ Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.