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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
n. 1. Music a. An instrument consisting of a number of pipes that sound tones when supplied with air and a keyboard that operates a mechanism controlling the flow of air to the pipes. Also called pipe organ. b. Any one of various other instruments, such as the electronic organ, that resemble a pipe organ either in mechanism or sound. 2. Biology A differentiated part of an organism, such as an eye, wing, or leaf, that performs a specific function. 3. An instrument or agency dedicated to the performance of specified functions: The FBI is an organ of the Justice Department. 4. An instrument or means of communication, especially a periodical issued by a political party, business firm, or other group. [Middle English, from Old French organe and from Old English organe, both from Latin organum, tool, instrument, from Greek organon; see werg- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
