Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for OR'GAN
OR'GAN, n. [L. organum; Gr. οργανον; Sp. and It. organo; Fr. organe; D. and G. orgel; Pers. and Ar. arganon.]
- A natural instrument of action or operation, or by which some process is carried on. Thus the arteries and veins of animal bodies are organs of circulation; the lungs are organs of respiration; the nerves are organs of perception and sensation; the muscles are organs of motion; the ears are organs of hearing; the tongue as the organ of speech.
- The instrument or means of conveyance or communication. A secretary of state is the organ of communication between the government and a foreign power.
- The largest and most harmonious of wind instruments of music, consisting of pipes which are filled with wind, and stops touched by the fingers. It is blown by a bellows. Johnson. Encyc.
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