Adjacent Words

Organ definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

OR'GAN, n. [L. organum; Gr.]
1. A natural instrument of action or operation, or by which some process is carried on. Thus the arteries and veins of animal bodies are organs of circulation; the lungs are organs of respiration; the nerves are organs of perception and sensation; the muscles are organs of motion; the ears are organs of hearing; the tongue is the organ of speech.
2. The instrument or means of conveyance or communication. A secretary of state is the organ of communication between the government and a foreign power.
3. The largest and most harmonious of wind instruments of music, consisting of pipes which are filled with wind, and stops touched by the fingers. It is blown by a bellows.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a fully differentiated structural and functional unit in an animal that is specialized for some particular function
2: a government agency or instrument devoted to the performance of some specific function; "The Census Bureau is an organ of the Commerce Department"
3: (music) an electronic simulation of a pipe organ [syn: electric organ, electronic organ, Hammond organ, organ]
4: a periodical that is published by a special interest group; "the organ of the communist party"
5: 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 [syn: organ, pipe organ]
6: a free-reed instrument in which air is forced through the reeds by bellows [syn: harmonium, organ, reed organ]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English, partly from Old English organa, from Latin organum, from Greek organon, literally, tool, instrument; partly from Anglo-French organe, from Latin organum; akin to Greek ergon work — more at work Date: before 12th century 1. a. archaic any of various musical instruments; especially wind instrument b. (1) a keyboard instrument in which sets of pipes are sounded by compressed air and produce a variety of timbres — called also pipe organ (2) reed organ (3) an electronic keyboard instrument that approximates the sounds and resources of the pipe organ (4) any of various similar cruder instruments 2. a. a differentiated structure (as a heart, kidney, leaf, or stem) consisting of cells and tissues and performing some specific function in an organism b. bodily parts performing a function or cooperating in an activity <the eyes and related structures that make up the visual organs> 3. a subordinate group or organization that performs specialized functions <the various organs of government> 4. periodical

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a a usu. large musical instrument having pipes supplied with air from bellows, sounded by keys, and distributed into sets or stops which form partial organs, each with a separate keyboard (choir organ; pedal organ). b a smaller instrument without pipes, producing similar sounds electronically. c a smaller keyboard wind instrument with metal reeds; a harmonium. d = barrel-organ. 2 a a usu. self-contained part of an organism having a special vital function (vocal organs; digestive organs). b esp. joc. the penis. 3 a medium of communication, esp. a newspaper, sectarian periodical, etc. 4 archaic a professionally trained singing voice. 5 Phrenol. archaic a region of the brain held to be the seat of a particular faculty. Phrases and idioms: organ-blower a person or mechanism working the bellows of an organ. organ-grinder the player of a barrel-organ. organ-loft a gallery in a church or concert-room for an organ. organ of Corti see CORTI. organ-pipe any of the pipes on an organ. organ-screen an ornamental screen usu. between the choir and the nave of a church, cathedral, etc., on which the organ is placed. organ-stop 1 a set of pipes of a similar tone in an organ. 2 the handle of the mechanism that brings it into action. Etymology: ME f. OE organa & OF organe, f. L organum f. Gk organon tool

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Organ Or"gan, n. [L. organum, Gr. ?; akin to ? work, and E. work: cf. F. organe. See Work, and cf. Orgue, Orgy.] 1. 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. 2. (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. 3. 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. 4. 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. 5. [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. --Pope. Note: Chaucer used the form orgon as a plural. The merry orgon . . . that in the church goon [go]. Barrel organ, Choir organ, Great organ, etc. See under Barrel, Choir, etc. Cabinet organ (Mus.), an organ of small size, as for a chapel or for domestic use; a reed organ. Organ bird (Zo["o]l.), a Tasmanian crow shrike (Gymnorhina organicum). It utters discordant notes like those of a hand organ out of tune. Organ fish (Zo["o]l.), the drumfish. Organ gun. (Mil.) Same as Orgue (b) . Organ harmonium (Mus.), an harmonium of large capacity and power. Organ of Gorti (Anat.), a complicated structure in the cochlea of the ear, including the auditory hair cells, the rods or fibers of Corti, the membrane of Corti, etc. See Note under Ear. Organ pipe. See Pipe, n., 1. Organ-pipe coral. (Zo["o]l.) See Tubipora. Organ point (Mus.), a passage in which the tonic or dominant is sustained continuously by one part, while the other parts move.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Organ Or"gan, v. t. To supply with an organ or organs; to fit with organs; to organize. [Obs.] Thou art elemented and organed for other apprehensions. --Bp. Mannyngham.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(organs) 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. N-COUNT see also sense organ 2. 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. N-COUNT see also barrel organ, mouth organ 3. 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 N-COUNT: usu with supp

Easton's Bible Dictionary

some kind of wind instrument, probably a kind of Pan's pipes (Gen. 4:21; Job 21:12; Ps. 150:4), which consisted of seven or eight reeds of unequal length.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

or'-gan.

See MUSIC.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Instrument, means. 2. Medium, instrument, means of communication. 3. Voice, vocal organs.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A pipe. Will you cock your organ? will you smoke your pipe?

Moby Thesaurus

Charlie McCarthy, Hammond organ, affiliate, agency, agent, ancilla, annual, appendage, appliance, arm, baroque organ, bimonthly, biweekly, bough, branch, branch office, calliope, calliophone, channel, chapter, choralcelo, component, contrivance, creature, daily, daybook, device, diary, division, dummy, dupe, electric organ, electro-pneumatic organ, element, ephemeris, fortnightly, forum, gazette, go-between, hand, handmaid, handmaiden, harmonium, hebdomadal, hydraulic organ, imp, implement, instrument, instrumentality, instrumentation, interagent, intermediary, intermediate, intermedium, joint, journal, leg, lever, limb, link, lobe, lobule, local, lodge, magazine, mean, mechanism, mediator, medium, melodeon, melodica, member, midwife, minion, ministry, monthly, mouthpiece, newsletter, newsmagazine, newspaper, offshoot, orchestrelle, organophone, paper, part, pawn, periodical, pictorial, pinion, pipe organ, plaything, post, process, publication, puppet, quarterly, ramification, reed organ, review, runner, scion, seraphine, serial, servant, slave, slick magazine, spray, sprig, spur, steam organ, stooge, structure, switch, symphonion, tail, tendril, tool, toy, tracker-action organ, trade magazine, tubular-pneumatic organ, twig, unit, vehicle, vocalion, voice, weekly, wing, yearbook