Hypertext Webster Gateway: "organism"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Organism \Or"gan*ism\, n. [Cf. F. organisme.]
1. Organic structure; organization. ``The advantageous
organism of the eye.'' --Grew.
2. (Biol.) An organized being; a living body, either
vegetable or animal, compozed of different organs or parts
with functions which are separate, but mutually dependent,
and essential to the life of the individual.
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.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
organism
n 1: a living (or once living) entity that has (or can develop)
the ability to act or function independently [syn: {being},
{living thing}]
2: a system considered analogous in structure or function to a
living body: "the social organism"
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