柜式风琴

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}.
[1913 Webster +PJC]

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.