organic
or·gan·ic / ôrˈganik/ • adj. 1. of, relating to, or derived from living matter: organic soils. ∎ Chem. of, relating to, or denoting compounds containing carbon (other than simple binary compounds and salts) and chiefly or ultimately of biological origin. Compare with inorganic. ∎ (of food or farming methods) produced or involving production without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other artificial agents.2. Physiol. of or relating to a bodily organ or organs. ∎ Med. (of a disease) affecting the structure of an organ.3. denoting a relation between elements of something such that they fit together harmoniously as necessary parts of a whole: the organic unity of the integral work of art. ∎ characterized by continuous or natural development: companies expand as much by acquisition as by organic growth.DERIVATIVES: or·gan·i·cal·ly / -ik(ə)lē/ adv.
organic
1. Chemically, a substance containing carbon in the molecule (with the exception of carbonates and cyanide). Substances of animal and vegetable origin are organic; minerals are inorganic.
2. The term organic foods refers to ‘organically grown foods’, meaning plants grown without the use of (synthetic) pesticides, fungicides, or inorganic fertilizers, and prepared without the use of preservatives. Foodstuffs must be grown on land that has not been treated with chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides for at least three years. Organic meat is from animals fed on organically grown crops without the use of growth promoters, with only a limited number of medicines to treat disease, and commonly maintained under traditional, non‐intensive, conditions. In the EU, foods that are labelled as organic must carry the name of the organization certifying their organic status.
organic
1. relating to any or all of the organs of the body. o. disorder a disorder associated with changes in the structure of an organ or tissue. Compare functional disorder.
2. describing chemical compounds containing carbon, found in all living systems.