Organism

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Organism \Or"gan*ism\, n. [Cf. F. organisme.]
     1. Organic structure; organization. "The advantageous
        organism of the eye." --Grew.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Biol.) An organized being; a living body, either


        vegetable or animal, composed of different organs or parts
        with functions which are separate, but mutually dependent,
        and essential to the life of the individual.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Some of the lower forms of life are so simple in
           structure as to be without organs, but are still called
           organisms, since they have different parts analogous in
           functions to the organs of higher plants and animals.
           [1913 Webster] organismal

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  organism
       n 1: a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act
            or function independently [syn: {being}]
       2: a system considered analogous in structure or function to a
          living body; "the social organism"

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  79 Moby Thesaurus words for "organism":
     aerobic organism, an existence, anaerobic organism, anatomy,
     architectonics, architecture, arrangement, autotrophic organism,
     being, body, build, building, composition, conformation,
     constitution, construction, creation, creature, critter, entelechy,
     entity, fabric, fabrication, fashion, fashioning, forging, form,
     format, formation, frame, genetic individual, getup,
     heterotrophic organism, individual, life, living being,
     living thing, make, makeup, making, manufacture, microbe,
     microorganism, mold, molding, monad, morphological individual,
     object, ont, organic being, organic structure, organization,
     pattern, patterning, person, persona, personality,
     physiological individual, physique, plan, production, setup, shape,
     shaping, something, soul, structure, structuring, tectonics,
     texture, thing, tissue, unit, virus, warp and woof, weave, web,
     zooid, zoon