organo-

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a combining form of Greek origin used, with the meaning “organ (of the body),” “musical instrument,” or as a combining form of organic in the formation of compound words: organology; organosilicon.

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Origin of organo-

<Greek, combining form of órganonorgan

Words nearby organo-

organized, organized labor, organized militia, organizer, organ meat, organo-, organ of Corti, organogenesis, organogram, organography, organoleptic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

WORDS THAT USE ORGANO-

What does organo- mean?

Organo- is a combining form used like a prefix with several meanings. In biology and medicine, it refers to an “organ (of the body).” In chemistry, it represents organic, referring to “chemical compounds existing in or derived from plants or animals and carbon compounds.” Very occasionally, it means “musical instrument.”

Organo- comes from the Greek órganon, meaning “organ.”

Examples of organo-

One example of a term that features the combining form organo- is organology, “the branch of biology that deals with the structure and functions of the organs of living things.”

As we have seen, in terms from biology, organo- means “organ.” The ending -logy may also look familiar: it is commonly used to denote areas of study. Organology literally translates to “the study of organs.”

What are some words that use the combining form organo-?

What are some other forms that organo- may be commonly confused with?

Break it down!

Genesis means “an origin, creation, development.” What does the biological term organogenesis refer to the development of?

How to use organo- in a sentence

Especially will the traveller in Mexico be struck by the imposing organo cactus.
Mexico|Charles Reginald Enock
A striking example of the place of suggestion came with the development of organo-therapy some fifteen years ago.
Psychotherapy|James J. Walsh
Præterea in quibusdam morbis medendi cruciatus detraxit, ut in anginis quas curabant in fauces organo demisso.
Dealings With The Dead|A Sexton of the Old School
Sopra un organo particolare della Cimici dei letti (Cimex lectularius L.).
Handbook of Medical Entomology|William Albert Riley

De Novo Organo silemus, he says, neque de eo quicquam prlibamus.
Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries, Vol. 2|Henry Hallam

British Dictionary definitions for organo-

organo-

combining form

(in biology or medicine) indicating an organ or organsorganogenesis

(in chemistry) indicating a compound containing an organic grouporganometallic; organosulphur; organophosphate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012