Etymograph

English

organize

Organize comes from Medieval Latin organizō ‘to organize’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- ‘to make’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*werǵ-1‘to make’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὄργανον1órganon‘organ, instrument, tool’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEorganum2‘organ’
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500organizō2‘to organize’
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600organiser2
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500organizen2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1691organize2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin organum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English organize
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1691, John Ray, London: […] Samuel Smith: “These nobler faculties in the mind of man, […]…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*werǵ-Wiktionary, Latin organum‘to make’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὄργανονWiktionary, Latin organumórganon‘organ, instrument, tool’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEorganumWiktionary, English organize‘organ’
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500organizōWiktionary, English organize‘to organize’
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600organiserWiktionary, English organize
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500organizenWiktionary, English organize
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1691organizeWiktionary, English organize. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1691, John Ray, London: […] Samuel Smith: “These nobler faculties in the mind of man, […]…”

Equivalent to organ + -ize

Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- ‘to make’

Ancient Greek ὄργανον ‘an instrument, implement, tool, also an organ…’

Latin organum ‘an implement, instrument, tool’

Old French organe

Middle English organe ‘a keyboard instrument that produces sound by…’

English organ

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- ‘to make’

work, energy, wright, boulevard, energetic, wrought, allergy, orgasm, liturgy, metallurgy, bulwark, argon, werk, irk, irksome, wark, erg, 23 more

through Middle French organiser

disorganization, 3 more

Today it means

verb To arrange in working order.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “organize”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin organum. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- / organize

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