organization

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˌɔː.ɡən.aɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/, US /ˌɔːr.ɡən.əˈzeɪ.ʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English organisacioun,^[2][3] borrowed from Medieval Latin organizātiō,^[2][3] a noun of action from the past participle of organizāre, from Latin organum (“instrument, organ”),^[2] from Greek Ancient Greek ὄργανον (órganon, “instrument, tool”), the source of organ.^[2] The SOED forms it partly in English from organize and -ation.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Organic structure, the structure of the body or its parts, and the act of organizing, an arrangement of interdependent parts: the early 15th century,^[2] 1432–50 in the OED.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined it as a construction “in which the parts are so disposed as to be subservient to each other”.^[6] That which is organized, an organized structure or organism, is by 1707.^[2][5] The act of putting things into systematic order is from 1816,^[5] and an organized body of people, such as a society, corporation or club, by 1829.^[2][5] The sense “system, establishment, constitution” is from 1873.^[2] The disparaging organization man, one who gives up his individuality to the organization he serves, is from the title of William H. Whyte's 1956 book.^[2][3] In medieval music, organization was the singing of organum.^[5]

Timeline

• 1432–50 – the act of organizing; organic structure.^[5]
• 1707 – an organized structure.^[2][5]
• 1816 – arranging in systematic form.^[5]
• 1829 – an organized body of people.^[2][5]
• 1956 – organization man.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A group of people organized for a particular purpose, such as a business, society or club.
2. The act or process of organizing.
3. The way in which the parts of something are arranged; structure.
4. Efficient arrangement or planning.

Word family

• organizational
• organizationally
• antiorganization
• inorganization
• misorganization
• nonorganization
• preorganization
• suborganization

Related words

• organize
• organ
• organism
• organic

Usage notes

The spelling organisation is common in British English.^[4]

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 i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.