ὀργανικός

Forms

ὀργᾰνικός (organikós) m (feminine ὀργανική, neuter ὀργανικόν); first/second declension^[1][2]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek ὄργανον (órganon, “instrument, tool, organ”) + -ικός (-ikós).^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Aristotle is the first to use it, of the parts of the body that serve as instruments or organs.^[1][2][5]

Semantic evolution

Aristotle also calls the virtues of a slave “instrumental”, and his pupil Aristoxenus names the study of musical instruments organikḗ, beside harmonics, rhythmics and metrics.^[1][6] Later the word was used of war engines, by Diodorus and in the Second Book of Maccabees, and of mechanical devices, while Plutarch calls mechanics organikḗ, speaks of oratory that works on crowds, and contrasts practical musicians with theoretical ones.^[1][7][2] A late commentator, Elias, uses it in the sense “logical”.^[1]

It was borrowed as Latin organicus, the source of English organic, which took on the meaning “of living things” in 18th-century physiology.^[8][9] Modern Greek οργανικός (organikós) is a learned word: its ancient sense was revived, and its newer senses are semantic loans from French organique and instrumental.^[10]

Timeline

• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it of the parts of the body that serve as instruments, and Aristoxenus of the study of musical instruments.^{[1][2][6][11]}
• 2nd century BC – An inscription from Tanagra records recitals both theoretical and instrumental.^[1]
• 1st century BC – Diodorus uses it of the force of war engines.^[1][11]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch uses it of mechanical devices, of oratory that works on crowds and of the art of mechanics.^[2][1][11]
• 1510s – English organic is first recorded, from Latin.^[9]
• Modern Greek – The learned οργανικός (organikós) takes new senses from French.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Serving as an instrument or organ; of the parts of the body, instrumental.^[1][2]
2. Of the human body: equipped with organs.^[2]
3. Mechanical; of war engines.^[1][2][7]
4. Of speech: effective, brought to bear on crowds.^[2][1]
5. Of musicians and surgeons: practical, as opposed to theoretical.^[1]
6. (late) Logical.^[1]

Noun

1. ὀργανική (feminine, as a noun): the art of mechanics; the study of musical instruments.^[2][6]

Related words

• ὄργανον (órganon)
• Latin organicus
• English organic

Usage notes

Kriaras records a medieval vernacular organikós meaning “arising from great anger”, which he derives, probably, from the aorist of a verb *orgaínō with the suffix -ikós.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
3. ^ Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, online ed., https://www.koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b c Charbonnet, André (2025), Chæréphon, v4.7: supplement to Bailly from papyri, inscriptions and recent lexica
7. ^ a b Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
8. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
12. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr