Organical

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Of, relating to, or produced by living things or their processes ; arranged or structured in a systematic and orderly manner
2. Pertaining to organisms or matter from living sources ; characterized by an organized and integrated arrangement of parts
3. Derived from or composed of living material ; having a coherent structure with parts working together in an organized way

Etymology: "Organical" is an older form of "organic," and the adjective has traveled a long way from its roots. Its ancestor is the Greek "organon," meaning a tool or instrument, and from that sense came the idea of a body made of working parts, each serving a purpose, like the parts of a machine. Latin took the notion as "organicus," and it passed into English through Old French "organique" and Middle English "organik." So the word that now describes living things began as a description of instruments. The shift from tool to living body is the heart of the story. Because an organ of the body was once thought of as a device with a function, "organic" came to mean relating to living structures, and only later did it take on the sense of whatever is composed of living matter. The older spelling "organical," with its extra syllable, reflects the same Latin-derived adjective formed with the suffix "-al," a pattern common in English adjectives of that period.

Synonyms: organic

Antonyms: inorganic