What is "organ"

Organ \Or"gan\, n. [L. organum, Gr. ?; akin to ? work, and E. work: cf. F. organe. See Work, and cf. Orgue, Orgy.]

1. An instrument or medium by which some important action is performed, or an important end accomplished; as, legislatures, courts, armies, taxgatherers, etc., are organs of government.

2. (Biol.) A natural part or structure in an animal or a plant, capable of performing some special action (termed its function), which is essential to the life or well-being of the whole; as, the heart, lungs, etc., are organs of animals; the root, stem, foliage, etc., are organs of plants.

   Note: In animals the organs are generally made up of several tissues, one of which usually predominates, and determines the principal function of the organ. Groups of organs constitute a system. See System.

3. A component part performing an essential office in the working of any complex machine; as, the cylinder, valves, crank, etc., are organs of the steam engine.

4. A medium of communication between one person or body and another; as, the secretary of state is the organ of communication between the government and a foreign power; a newspaper is the organ of its editor, or of a party, sect, etc. A newsletter distributed within an organization is often called its house organ.

5. [Cf. AS. organ, fr. L. organum.] (Mus.) A wind instrument containing numerous pipes of various dimensions and kinds, which are filled with wind from a bellows, and played upon by means of keys similar to those of a piano, and sometimes by foot keys or pedals; -- formerly used in the plural, each pipe being considered an organ.

   The deep, majestic, solemn organs blow.
   --Pope.

   Note: Chaucer used the form orgon as a plural.

   The merry orgon . . . that in the church goon [go].

   Barrel organ, Choir organ, Great organ, etc. See under Barrel, Choir, etc.

   Cabinet organ (Mus.), an organ of small size, as for a chapel or for domestic use; a reed organ.

   Organ bird (Zo["o]l.), a Tasmanian crow shrike ( Gymnorhina organicum). It utters discordant notes like those of a hand organ out of tune.

   Organ fish (Zo["o]l.), the drumfish.

   Organ gun. (Mil.) Same as Orgue (b) .

   Organ harmonium (Mus.), an harmonium of large capacity and power.

   Organ of Corti (Anat.), a complicated structure in the cochlea of the ear, including the auditory hair cells, the rods or fibers of Corti, the membrane of Corti, etc. See Note under Ear.

   Organ pipe. See Pipe, n., 1.

   Organ-pipe coral. (Zo["o]l.) See Tubipora.

   Organ point (Mus.), a passage in which the tonic or dominant is sustained continuously by one part, while the other parts move.

Organ \Or"gan\, v. t. To supply with an organ or organs; to fit with organs; to organize. [Obs.]

Thou art elemented and organed for other apprehensions.
--Bp. Mannyngham.

fusion of late Old English organe, and Old French orgene (12c.), both meaning "musical instrument," both from Latin organa, plural of organum "a musical instrument," from Greek organon "implement, tool for making or doing; musical instrument; organ of sense, organ of the body," literally "that with which one works," from PIE *werg-ano-, from root *werg- "to do" (cognates: Greek ergon "work," orgia "religious performances;" Armenian gorc "work;" Avestan vareza "work, activity;" Gothic waurkjan, Old English wyrcan "to work," Old English weorc "deed, action, something done;" Old Norse yrka "work, take effect").\n

\nApplied vaguely in late Old English to musical instruments; sense narrowed by late 14c. to the musical instrument now known by that name (involving pipes supplied with wind by a bellows and worked by means of keys), though Augustine (c.400) knew this as a specific sense of Latin organa. The meaning "body part adapted to a certain function" is attested from late 14c., from a Medieval Latin sense of Latin organum. Organist is first recorded 1590s; organ-grinder is attested from 1806.

n. 1 A largest part of an organism, composed of tissues that perform similar functions. 2 (context by extension English) A body of an organization dedicated to the performing of certain functions. 3 (context musical instruments English) A musical instrument that has multiple pipes which play when a key is pressed (the pipe organ), or an electronic instrument designed to replicate such. vb. (context obsolete transitive English) To supply with an organ or organs; to fit with organs.

1. n. a fully differentiated structural and functional unit in an animal that is specialized for some particular function

2. a government agency or instrument devoted to the performance of some specific function; "The Census Bureau is an organ of the Commerce Department"

3. (music) an electronic simulation of a pipe organ [syn: electric organ, electronic organ, Hammond organ]

4. a periodical that is published by a special interest group; "the organ of the communist party"

5. wind instrument whose sound is produced by means of pipes arranged in sets supplied with air from a bellows and controlled from a large complex musical keyboard [syn: pipe organ]

6. a free-reed instrument in which air is forced through the reeds by bellows [syn: harmonium, reed organ]

Organ usually refers to:

• Organ (anatomy), a collection of different tissues joined in structural unit to serve a common function
• Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
  • Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
  • Hammond organ, an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument
  • Pipe organ, a musical instrument that produces sound when pressurized air is driven through a series of pipes
  • Theatre organ, a pipe organ originally designed specifically for imitation of an orchestra

Organ may also refer to:

is a 1996 Japanese horror film written, directed and produced by Kei Fujiwara. She also stars in it as one of two organ thieves who remove organs from their captives while they are still alive.

In biology, an organ or viscus is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In anatomy, a viscus is an internal organ, and viscera is the plural form.

Organs are composed of main tissue, parenchyma, and "sporadic" tissues, stroma. The main tissue is that which is unique for the specific organ, such as the myocardium, the main tissue of the heart, while sporadic tissues include the nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissues. Functionally related organs often cooperate to form whole organ systems. Organs exist in all higher biological organisms, in particular they are not restricted to animals, but can also be identified in plants. In single-cell organisms like bacteria, the functional analogue of an organ is called organelle.

A hollow organ is a visceral organ that forms a hollow tube or pouch, such as the stomach or intestine, or that includes a cavity, like the heart or urinary bladder.

In music, the organ (from Greek ὄργανον organon, "organ, instrument, tool") is a keyboard instrument of one or more pipe divisions, each played with its own keyboard, played either with the hands on a keyboard or with the feet using pedals. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria (285–222 BC), who invented the water organ. It was played throughout the Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman world, particularly during races and games. During the early medieval period it spread from the Byzantine Empire, where it continued to be used in secular (non-religious) and imperial court music, to Western Europe, where it gradually assumed a prominent place in the liturgy of the Catholic Church. Subsequently it re-emerged as a secular and recital instrument in the Classical music tradition.

Organ is an independent music magazine based in London, covering a variety of rock, alternative, punk, progressive, metal and experimental music. The magazine was founded in 1986 as a handmade fanzine and has evolved many times over the last 20 years. The Organ is run by Organart, a music group which includes a radio and TV show, a mail-order music distribution system, artwork, animation and video making, gig promotion (there have been over 1000 Organ shows in London, many big names have made their first London moves via Organ gigs) and ORG records.

ORG is an alternative record label which has released material by a bands including Cardiacs, Dream City Film Club, Cay, Sleepy People, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, King Prawn, My Vitriol, Pop-A Cat-a-Petal (later Ultrasound), The Monsoon Bassoon, Breed 77, Pure Reason Revolution, Cynical Smile, Inaura, Rhatigan, Cheesecake Truck, Everything Must Go, Sonic Boom Boys and many others.

Some of the bands who have made their very first or very early moves via the ORGAN RADIO series of compilation albums include 65DAYSOFSTATIC, SIKTH, I-DEF-I, PULKAS, KING PRAWN, LOST PROPHETS, EARTHTONE 9, Cortizone, MIOCENE, CHARGER, SKINDRED, ONE MINUTE SILENCE, Aerobitch, Raging Speedhorn.

The Organ magazine has existed as a fanzine, a glossy print magazine, a folded A3 paper newsheet and a website, a cassette magazine, indeed one issue of Organ was printed on a t-shirt.

Currently, Organ is a weekly on-line magazine, released alongside daily updated alternative music and art news pages on organart's website. There is also a weekly radio show presented by the Organ team on Sunday nights, 9.00 PM on London's Resonance FM. The show can be heard worldwide via their website.

Organ is noted for its fanzine nature and alternative DIY ethic; this includes a diversity of coverage, an energetic and subjective stream of consciousness writing style, and some independence and its role in publicising new talent. The magazine has been known to find new or neglected acts long before the mainstream music press or industry.