organum

Borrowed from Latin organum, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ὄργανον (órganon, “organ, instrument, tool”). Doublet of organ, organon, and orgue.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɔː.ɡə.nəm/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɔɹ.ɡə.nəm/

organum (countable and uncountable, plural organums or organa)

1. (music) A type of medieval polyphony which builds upon an existing plainsong.
2. (archaic) A method by which philosophical or scientific investigation may be conducted.
   • 1794, George Adams, Lectures on natural and experimental philosophy:

     He has given us an organum of a different origin and construction from that of Arislotle […]

   • 1823, Thomas Wirgman, An Entirely New, Complete and Permanent Science of Philosophy:

     Another important circumstance respecting our transcendental esthetics is, that it does not insinuate itself merely as a plausible hypothesis, but is as certain and indubitable as we can require any theory to be in order to serve as an organum.

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ὄργανον (órganon, “organ, instrument, tool”).

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈor.ɡa.num/, [ˈɔrɡänʊ̃ˑ]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈor.ɡa.num/, [ˈɔrɡänum]

organum n (genitive organī); second declension

1. an implement, instrument, tool
2. any musical instrument

Second-declension noun (neuter).

• organicus

Note: In many Romance languages, it is unclear whether inherited or borrowed from Latin.

• Italian: organo, argano
• Old French: organe, orgene
  • → Middle English: organe, organ, orgayn, organt, orgene, orgeyn, orgyn, orgon, orgone, orgoyn, orgoun, orgun, orgne
    • English: organ
      • → Korean: 오르간 (oreugan)
      • → Maori: ōkana
      • → Vietnamese: oóc-gan
    • Scots: organ
• Old Leonese:
  • Asturian: muérganu, órganu
• Old Occitan:
  • Catalan: òrgan
  • Occitan: organ
• Old Galician-Portuguese: *orgão
  • Galician: orgo, → órgano
  • Portuguese: órgão
• Old Spanish: huérgano, órgano
  • Spanish: órgano
    • → Basque: organo
    • → Tagalog: organo
• Rhaeto-Romance:
  • Friulian: organ, argagn, orghin, vuarzine
• Sicilian: òrganu
• → Catalan: orgue
• → Czech: varhany
• → English: organum
• → French: orgue (earlier borrowing)
  • → English: orgue
  • → Haitian Creole: ògàn
  • → Norman: orgue
  • → Persian: ارگ‎ (org)
  • → Romanian: orgă
• → French: organe (later borrowing)
  • Haitian Creole: ògàn
• → Irish: orgán
• → German: Organ
  • → Czech: orgán
• → Hungarian: orgona
• → Middle English: organum
• → Proto-West Germanic: *orgalā (see there for further descendants)

• “organum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “organum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• organum in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• organum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
• “organum”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers

Borrowed from Latin organum. Doublet of organe.

organum (plural organum)

1. A device used to produce music; a musical instrument.
2. A keyboard instrument that produces sound by air moved through pipes; an organ.

• (general musical instrument): instrument; organe; simphane; symphonye
• (keyboard instrument): organe

• “organum, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-02.

From French organum.

organum n (uncountable)

1. organum