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organ

Syllabification: (or·gan)
Pronunciation: /ˈôrgən/
Translate organ | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of organ

noun

  • 1 Biology a part of an organism that is typically self-contained and has a specific vital function, such as the heart or liver in humans.
  • a department or organization that performs a specified function:the central organs of administration and business
  • a medium of communication, especially a newspaper or periodical that serves a particular organization, political party, etc.:an article in the official organ of the Salvation Army
  • (used euphemistically) the penis.
  • archaic a region of the brain formerly held to be the seat of a particular faculty.
  • 2 (also pipe organ) a large musical instrument having rows of tuned pipes sounded by compressed air, and played using one or more keyboards to produce a wide range of musical effects. The pipes are generally arranged in ranks of a particular type, each controlled by a stop, and often into larger sets linked to separate keyboards.
  • an electronic keyboard instrument that produces sounds similar to those of a pipe organ. See also reed organ.

Origin:

late Old English, via Latin from Greek organon 'tool, instrument, sense organ', reinforced in Middle English by Old French organe

organ in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of organ in the British & World English dictionary