nonorganic
|non-or-gan-ic|
🇺🇸
/ˌnɑnɔrˈɡænɪk/
🇬🇧
/ˌnɒnɔːˈɡænɪk/
not organic / not produced by living processes
Etymology
'nonorganic' originates from Old English/Old Norse prefix 'non-' meaning 'not' combined with 'organic', which comes from Greek 'organikos' via Latin 'organicus' and Old French influences.
'organic' comes from Greek 'organon' (meaning 'instrument' or 'organ'), which developed into Greek 'organikos' and Latin 'organicus'; the modern English compound 'nonorganic' formed by attaching the negative prefix 'non-' to 'organic' in later English usage.
Initially, 'organic' related to instruments or organs and later shifted to mean 'related to living organisms' or 'carbon-based'; 'nonorganic' has been used to indicate the absence of those organic characteristics, a meaning that has remained stable in modern usage.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not organic; not derived from living organisms or not consisting of organic (carbon-based) material.
The lab analyzed the sample and found it to be nonorganic.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adjective 2
not produced by organic farming methods; produced using conventional chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other nonorganic techniques.
The store separates organic and nonorganic produce on different shelves.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adjective 3
in chemistry or materials context: not organic in composition (e.g., lacking carbon-hydrogen based structures).
Many salts and metal oxides are nonorganic compounds.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/27 22:18