# organic

Pronunciation: US say "or-GAN-ik" /ɔɹˈɡænɪk/; UK say "aw-GAN-ik" /ɔːˈɡænɪk/

## Adjective

1. Grown in an environment free from artificial agrichemicals, and sometimes certified by a regulatory body.
   - Simple: Grown without man-made chemical sprays or fertilizers, and sometimes approved by an official body.
   - _The market only stocks organic produce certified by a national agency._
   - _Many shoppers pay more for organic vegetables grown without synthetic pesticides._
2. Having to do with living organisms or produced by them.
   - Simple: Coming from or made of living things like plants and animals.
   - _Decomposers break down organic matter and return nutrients to the soil._
   - _Scientists tested the rock for traces of organic molecules._
3. Relating to carbon compounds, or to substances produced by living things.
   - Simple: Having to do with carbon and the substances that contain it.
   - _Chemists classify benzene as an organic compound._
   - _The lab studies organic reactions involving long carbon chains._
4. Developing in a gradual, natural way rather than being forced or planned.
   - Simple: Happening slowly and naturally, without being forced.
   - _The band's sound evolved in an organic fashion across their albums._
   - _Her career followed an organic path, each step leading naturally to the next._
7. Produced by a search engine's ranking algorithms rather than through paid promotion.
   - Simple: Showing up in search results naturally, not because someone paid for it.
   - _The page rose to the top of the organic listings after months of good content._
   - _Marketers track organic clicks separately from paid ones._
8. Forming a harmonious, coherent whole in which the parts fit together naturally.
   - Simple: Fitting together well as one connected whole.
   - _The novel has an organic structure where every chapter supports the whole._
   - _Their designs feel organic, with each element flowing into the next._
9. Relating to an organ of the body of a living thing.
   - Simple: Having to do with an organ inside the body, like the heart or liver.
   - _Tests ruled out any organic disease in the patient's liver._
   - _The symptoms pointed to an organic problem rather than stress._
11. Of a military unit or its parts, belonging permanently to an organization rather than being temporarily attached.
   - Simple: Being a permanent part of a military unit, not just added for a short time.
   - _The brigade relied on its organic artillery rather than borrowed batteries._
   - _Engineers were organic to the division and deployed with it permanently._
12. Acting as an instrument of nature or of art toward some intended function or purpose.
   - Simple: Working as a tool to reach a set goal or purpose.
   - _The poet treated the eye and ear as organic powers, each shaped for its appointed task._
   - _In his view, every limb is organic, fitted by nature to a particular end._
13. Describing a form of social solidarity, theorized by Emile Durkheim, based on voluntary, interdependent relationships for mutual benefit rather than on inherited ties like family.
   - Simple: Describing a kind of social bond where people choose to rely on one another for shared benefit.
   - _Durkheim saw organic solidarity emerging as labor became more specialized._
   - _Industrial societies tend toward organic forms of solidarity rather than kinship-based ones._

## Noun

5. A food produced without artificial agrichemicals.
   - Simple: A food grown without man-made chemical sprays or fertilizers.
   - _The store groups its organics near the entrance._
   - _An organic generally costs more than its conventionally grown counterpart._
6. A carbon-based chemical compound, of the kind studied in organic chemistry.
   - Simple: A substance built from carbon, like those found in living things.
   - _The reaction produces a new organic with a longer carbon chain._
   - _Chemists separated the organics from the inorganic salts._
10. A living organism, in contrast to a robot or hologram.
   - Simple: A living being, not a robot or a hologram.
   - _The crew's lone organic needed food and sleep, unlike the androids._
   - _Holograms guided the organics through the alien city._

## Origin

From Middle English organic, from Old French organique, from Latin organicus.

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