# organ

Pronunciation: US say "OR-guhn" /ˈɔɹɡən/; UK say "AW-guhn" /ˈɔːɡən/

## Noun

1. A distinct part of a plant or animal, made up of tissues that work together to carry out a particular function.
   - Simple: A part of the body, like the heart or lungs, that does a special job.
   - _The liver is the largest internal organ in the human body._
   - _Each of the body's organs depends on a steady blood supply._
2. A keyboard instrument that produces sound by driving air through sets of pipes, or an electronic instrument built to imitate that sound.
   - Simple: A large musical instrument that makes sound by pushing air through many pipes, played using a keyboard.
   - _The cathedral's organ has over five thousand pipes._
   - _He bought an electronic organ so he could practice quietly at home._
3. A part of an organization established to carry out particular functions.
   - Simple: A part of a larger group that is set up to do certain jobs.
   - _The press office serves as the public-facing organ of the ministry._
   - _Several organs within the union negotiate on behalf of the workers._
4. A government body, agency, or authority that exercises official functions.
   - Simple: A part of a government that has official power to carry out certain jobs.
   - _The supreme court is the highest judicial organ in the country._
   - _International treaties created new organs to oversee trade disputes._
5. A periodical such as a magazine or newsletter that an organization publishes as its official voice.
   - Simple: An official magazine or newsletter that a group puts out.
   - _The party's daily newspaper served as its main organ for decades._
   - _Several organs of the learned society published the new guidelines._
6. An indirect or euphemistic term for the penis, used in place of blunter language. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A polite or indirect word for the penis.
   - _The novel's narrator described the dull ache in his organ after the fall._
   - _Doctors warned that the medication could reduce blood flow to his organ._
7. Ellipsis of organ pipe cactus. — Ellipsis of organ pipe cactus.
   - Simple: Short way of saying organ pipe cactus. Use it when the surrounding text already makes the plant clear.
   - _Botanists tagged each organ along the southern ridge for the survey._
   - _The organ blooms with white flowers that open only after dark._
8. An Asian type of volley gun with multiple barrels fired in a single combined discharge.
   - Simple: An old Asian weapon with many gun barrels set side by side that fire together.
   - _The garrison wheeled an organ onto the ramparts to repel the assault._
   - _Each organ could sweep the narrow approach with one deadly volley._

## Noun

9. A device, apparatus, or instrument for performing some kind of work. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A tool, machine, or piece of equipment.
   - _The inventor unveiled an organ designed to draw water from the deep well._
   - _Every workshop kept some organ for shaping the hot iron._

## Verb

10. To furnish or equip something with an organ or organs. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To fit or supply something with an organ or organs.

## Origin

From Middle English organe, from Old French organe, from Latin organum, from Ancient Greek ὄργανον (órganon), which meant an instrument or tool, an organ of sense or of the body, and also a musical instrument. It goes back to Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-, and is a doublet of organon, organum, and orgue.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/organ (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).