Etymologically
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organic

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ɔːˈɡæn.ɪk/, US /ɔːrˈɡæn.ɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin organicus,[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek ὀργανικός (organikós, “of an instrument or organ”), from ὄργανον (órganon, “instrument, tool”).[2][3] The earliest Middle English organik came through Old French organique and Medieval Latin organicus;[3] the later uses were borrowed again from Latin.[3] See organ.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of parts of the body, having special properties or functions: before 1400, in Lanfranc's Science of Surgery.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

Serving as an instrument or means is from 1517.[5][3] In physiology, relating to the organs of the body, as in organic disease, it is from 1706,[5][3] and having organs, derived from living beings, from 1778.[3][5] In chemistry, of compounds of carbon that occur naturally in plants and animals, it is first found in Faraday's Chemical Manipulation (1827);[3] organic chemistry is from 1831.[2] Belonging to the constitution of a thing, fundamental, is from 1796.[3][2] Grown without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides is from 1942.[2]

Timeline

  • before 1400 – of body parts.[3]
  • 1517 – serving as an instrument.[5]
  • 1706 – of the bodily organs.[5]
  • 1778 – having organs, living.[3]
  • 1827 – in chemistry.[3]
  • 1942 – grown without pesticides.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Produced or grown without artificial fertilizers or pesticides: organic vegetables.
  2. Of or coming from living plants or animals.
  3. (chemistry) Of compounds containing carbon.
  4. (medicine) Affecting the organs of the body.
  5. Developing naturally and gradually, as part of a whole.

Word family

  • organically
  • organicity
  • organicalness
  • bioorganic
  • homorganic
  • hyperorganic
  • nonorganic
  • organicism
  • organ
  • organism
  • organize
  • inorganic

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press