organ English · revision 7357

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1000|origins=grc ὄργανον}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɔːɡən/ ''(UK)''; /ˈoɹɡən/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a fusion of late Old English [[m|ang|organe|t=musical instrument]] and Old French orgene, organe,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) both from [[la|organa]], the plural of organum, a musical instrument,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from Greek [[m|grc|ὄργανον|tr=órganon|t=tool, instrument; organ of sense or of the body]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998) related to [[m|grc|ἔργον|tr=érgon|t=work]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from PIE [[ine-pro|*werǵ-|alt=*werg-|t=to do]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A musical instrument, vaguely, especially a wind instrument: about 1000.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the late 14th century the sense narrowed to the instrument of pipes sounded by air from a bellows and worked by keys, ''the largest, the most complicated, and the noblest of musical instruments'' (Century Dictionary);^(Etymonline) Augustine already knew this sense of Latin organa.^(Etymonline) A part of the body adapted to a function is from the late 14th century (1392), from a Medieval Latin sense.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) A tool or instrument is from the early 15th century, and anything that performs a function from the 1540s.^(Etymonline) A means of communication, as a newspaper, is by 1788.^(Etymonline) [[organic|alt=Organic]] and [[organize]] come from the same Greek word.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – a musical instrument.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 14th century – the pipe organ.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1392 – a body organ.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 15th century – a tool.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1788 – a medium of communication.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A part of an animal or plant body adapted for a particular function, such as the heart or liver.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A large musical instrument with pipes sounded by compressed air and played with keyboards; a similar electronic instrument.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A newspaper or periodical that represents a particular group: ''the party's official organ''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An instrument or means of action: ''organs of government''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[interorgan]]

+ * [[multiorgan]]

+ * [[organology]]

+ * [[organelle]]

+ * [[baroque organ]]

+ * [[electric organ]]

+ * [[end organ]]

+ * [[Hammond organ]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[organic]]

+ * [[organize]]

+ * [[organism]]

+ * [[organist]]

+ * [[orgy]]

+ * [[work]]

+ * [[energy]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}