/ˈɔːɡən/, /ˈɔɹɡən/
OriginFrom Middle English organe, from Old French organe, from Latin organum, from Ancient Greek ὄργανον (órganon, “an instrument, implement, tool, also an organ of sense or apprehension, an organ of the body, also a musical instrument, an organ”), from Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-. Doublet of organon, organum, and orgue.
- The larger part of an organism, composed of tissues that perform similar functions.
“bodily organs”
“vital organ”
“No matter the extraordinary progress that has been made in heart surgery over the past century, the heart remains a vulnerable organ.”
- broadlyA body of an organization dedicated to the performing of certain functions.
- obsoleteA device, apparatus.
“This Organ is called a Thermometer, or Thermoscope, because the degrees of Heat and Cold are measured and marked by it.”
- A musical instrument that has multiple pipes which play when a key is pressed (the pipe organ), or an electronic instrument designed to replicate such.
“He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights, […], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seeme”
- An official magazine, newsletter, or similar publication of an organization.
- abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsisEllipsis of organ pipe cactus.
- A government organization; agency; authority.
- slangThe penis.
“If the Snake has an unmistakeable resemblance to the male organ in its active state, the foliage of the tree or bush is equally remindful of the female.”
- historicalAn Asian form of mitrailleuse.
“Lieutenant Roberts was also severely wounded by a missile, or weapon called an Organ, which is composed of about thirty-six gun barrels so joined as to fire at once.”
- obsolete, transitiveTo supply with an organ or organs; to fit with organs.
“[W]hen he ſays, he has compaſſion on’em, they ſhould ask, where then are his Bowels! […] Alaſs! fond Creature, thou art Elemented and Organ’d for other Apprehenſions […]”
- countable, uncountableA surname.
- countable, uncountableA census-designated place in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States.
Formsorgans(plural) · organs(present, singular, third-person) · organing(participle, present) · organed(participle, past) · organed(past) · Organs(plural)