Organische

Organische is a Dutch adjective meaning “organic” or “pertaining to living organisms.” In scientific usage it designates things related to carbon-containing compounds or processes characteristic of living systems. In chemistry, the field is called organische chemie, and substances described as organische stoffen are organic compounds, typically composed of carbon and hydrogen and often containing oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, or halogens. The opposite category is anorganische stoffen, inorganic substances.

Organische chemistry covers a wide range of substances, including hydrocarbons, alcohols, carbonyl compounds, carboxylic acids, polymers, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. In biology and ecology, organische material refers to matter derived from living organisms, such as soil organic matter, detritus, or biomass. The term also appears in everyday language to describe products or farming practices that avoid synthetic chemicals.

Historically, organische substances were once believed to require a vital force to be produced in living organisms, a doctrine known as vitalism. This view was challenged and ultimately overturned in 1828 when Friedrich Wöhler synthesized urea from inorganic starting materials, demonstrating that organic compounds can be prepared from inorganic materials.

In contemporary Dutch usage, organische is paired with terms like organische stoffen (organic compounds), organische landbouw (organic farming), and organische verbindingen (organic compounds). The English equivalents are the adjectives “organic” and the noun “organic matter,” with context determining whether the reference is to chemistry, biology, agriculture, or environmental science.