Etymologically
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organization

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 18:46. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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
  • 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.