English

Noun

opus ‎(plural opuses or opera)

1. A work of music or set of works with a specified rank in an ordering of a composer's complete published works.

   Beethoven's opus eighteen quartets are considered by many to be the beginning of the Romantic era.

2. A work, especially of art.

   The painter's last opus was a dedication to all things living, in a surprising contrast to all of his prior work.

Translations

Usage notes

The most common plural of opus in English is opuses. Some people use the Latin plural, opera. Opi is fairly common in the field of classical music, though mostly in informal contexts. The use of any of these three pluralizations may result in the speaker being corrected, though opi, above all, should be avoided in formal contexts. Outside of music, the word opus sees particularly frequent use in the expression magnum opus.

Anagrams

• pous
• soup

Latin

Alternative forms

• op. abbreviation

Etymology

From an s-stem Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep-os ‎(“work”), from the verbal root *h₃ep- ‎(“to work”), whence also ops and omnis. Cognates include Sanskrit अपस् ‎(ápas, “work, action”) and Old English efnen ‎(“to perform”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈo.pus/, [ˈɔ.pʊs], [ˈɔ.pʊs]

Noun

opus n ‎(genitive operis); third declension

1. work, accomplishment
2. need

   opus esse +nom. or +abl. of the thing needed‎ ― to have need of, there is need of

   • 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita libri 26.1

     Si supplemento opus esset, suppleret de legionibus quibus P. Cornelius pro praetore in Sicilia praeesset, […]

     If reinforcements were needed, he should supply them with the legions which Publius Cornelius, propraetor, was in charge of in Sicily, […]

Inflection

Third declension neuter.

Derived terms

• manuopus (Mediaeval Latin)
• opera
• operor
• opusculum

Descendants

Note: for descendants of the plural form opera, see here.

References

• opus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• opus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• OPUS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “opus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to devote every spare moment to...; to work without intermission at a thing: nullum tempus intermittere, quin (also ab opere, or ad opus)
    
  • to entreat earnestly; to make urgent requests: magno opere, vehementer, etiam atque etiam rogare aliquem
    
  • to do work (especially agricultural): opus facere (De Senect. 7. 24)
    
  • to take a task in hand, engage upon it: opus aggredi
    
  • to take a task in hand, engage upon it: ad opus faciendum accedere
    
  • a work of art: artis opus; opus arte factum or perfectum
    
  • a master-piece of classical work: opus summo artificio[TR1] factum
    
  • a master-piece of classical work: opus omnibus numeris absolutum
    
  • to polish, finish a work with the greatest care: perpolire, limare diligenter librum, opus
    
  • to contract for the building of something: opus locare
    
  • to undertake the contract for a work: opus redimere, conducere
    
  • tillage; cultivation: opus rusticum
    
  • a town artificially fortified: oppidum manu (opere) munitum
    
  • to set fire to the siege-works: ignem inferre operibus (B. C. 2. 14)
    
  • in short; to be brief: ne multa, quid plura? sed quid opus est plura?
    
  • (ambiguous) to strain every nerve, do one's utmost in a matter: omni ope atque opera or omni virium contentione eniti, ut
    
  • (ambiguous) designedly; intentionally: de industria, dedita opera (opp. imprudens)
    
  • (ambiguous) to put the finishing touch to a work: extrema manus accēdit operi (active extremam manum imponere operi)
    
  • (ambiguous) to let out public works to contract: locare opera publica
    
  • (ambiguous) to raise siege-works: opera facere
    
• opus in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia
• opus in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• opus in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, pre-publication website, 2005-2016
• opus in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
• opus in William Smith., editor (1854, 1857) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, page 432

Portuguese

Verb

opus

1. First-person singular (eu) preterite indicative of opor

Romanian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /oˈpus/

Adjective

opus m, n ‎(feminine singular opusă, masculine plural opuși, feminine and neuter plural opuse)

1. opposite, contrary
2. reverse

Noun

opus

1. the opposite, contrary
2. reverse

Synonyms

• contrar

Participle

opus

1. past participle of opune

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin opus. Compare also the inherited doublet op.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈo.pus/

Noun

opus n ‎(plural opusuri)

1. opus, musical composition or work