magnum opus
Appearance
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Latin magnum opus (“great work”).[1]
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: măg'nəm ōʹpəs, IPA(key): /ˌmæɡnəm ˈəʊpəs/
- (US) enPR: măg'nəm ōʹpəs, IPA(key): /ˌmæɡnəm ˈoʊpəs/
Noun
[edit]Examples |
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magnum opus (plural magna opera or magnum opuses or (nonstandard) magnum opi)
- A great or important work of literature, music or art, a masterpiece.
- The best, most popular, or most renowned achievement of an author or artist, representing their major life effort.
- The 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is widely considered to be George Orwell's magnum opus.
- (alchemy) The process of working with the prima materia to create the philosopher's stone.
Usage notes
[edit]The Latin plural magna opera may be preferred in some academic and literary contexts; in popular usage the English-style plural magnum opuses is more common. The plural magnum opi, although rare and likely regarded as incorrect in formal works, does see some use.
Synonyms
[edit]Translations
[edit]masterpiece
|
the greatest work of an author or artist
|
References
[edit]- ^ “magnum opus”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
Further reading
[edit]- magnum opus on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Anagrams
[edit]Polish
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Unadapted borrowing from Latin magnum opus.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]magnum opus n (indeclinable)
- magnum opus (masterpiece)
- magnum opus (greatest work of an author or artist)
- (alchemy) magnum opus (process of working with the prima materia to create the philosopher's stone)
Further reading
[edit]- magnum opus in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- magnum opus in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Swedish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Noun
[edit]- magnum opus (great(est) work)
Declension
[edit]This entry needs an inflection-table template.
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₃ep-
- English terms borrowed from Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English multiword terms
- English terms with usage examples
- en:Alchemy
- Polish terms borrowed from Latin
- Polish unadapted borrowings from Latin
- Polish terms derived from Latin
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Polish lemmas
- Polish nouns
- Polish indeclinable nouns
- Polish multiword terms
- Polish neuter nouns
- pl:Alchemy
- Swedish terms borrowed from Latin
- Swedish terms derived from Latin
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish nouns
- Swedish multiword terms
- Swedish neuter nouns