opus

See also: öpüş

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin opus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈəʊpəs/, /ˈɒpəs/

• Audio (RP)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊpəs, -ɒpəs

Noun

opus (plural opuses or opera)

1. (music) 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

a work of music or set of works with a specified rank

• Bulgarian: опус m (opus)
• Czech: opus (cs) m
• Finnish: opus (fi)

• Polish: opus (pl) n
• Russian: о́пус (ru) m (ópus)
• Swedish: opus (sv) n

a work, especially of art

• Finnish: teos (fi)

• Russian: о́пус (ru) m (ópus)

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, PUOs, Pous, pous, puso, soup

---

Czech

Etymology

Latin opus

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈopus]
• Hyphenation: opus

Noun

opus m inan

1. opus

Declension

Declension

	singular	plural
nominative	opus	opusy
genitive	opusu	opusů
dative	opusu	opusům
accusative	opus	opusy
vocative	opuse	opusy
locative	opusu	opusech
instrumental	opusem	opusy

Related terms

Related terms

• kooperace
• kooperativní
• kooperovat
• manévr
• manévrovat
• opera
• operace
• operační
• operand
• operátor
• opereta
• operní
• operovat

Further reading

• opus in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• opus in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Anagrams

• puso

---

Dutch

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin opus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈoː.pʏs/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: opus

Noun

opus n (plural opera or opussen, diminutive opusje n)

1. opus

Related terms

• oeuvre
• opera

---

Finnish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin opus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈopus/, [ˈo̞pus̠]
• Rhymes: -opus
• Syllabification: o‧pus

Noun

opus

1. (colloquial) book
2. (music) opus

Declension

Inflection of opus (Kotus type 39/vastaus, no gradation)
nominative		opus	opukset
genitive		opuksen	opusten opuksien
partitive		opusta	opuksia
illative		opukseen	opuksiin
		singular	plural
nominative		opus	opukset
accusative	nom.	opus	opukset
	gen.	opuksen
genitive		opuksen	opusten opuksien
partitive		opusta	opuksia
inessive		opuksessa	opuksissa
elative		opuksesta	opuksista
illative		opukseen	opuksiin
adessive		opuksella	opuksilla
ablative		opukselta	opuksilta
allative		opukselle	opuksille
essive		opuksena	opuksina
translative		opukseksi	opuksiksi
instructive		—	opuksin
abessive		opuksetta	opuksitta
comitative		—	opuksineen

Possessive forms of opus (type vastaus)
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	opukseni	opuksemme
2nd person	opuksesi	opuksenne
3rd person	opuksensa

Anagrams

• sopu, supo

---

French

Etymology

From Latin opus. Doublet of œuvre and opéra.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔ.pys/

Noun

opus m (plural opus)

1. opus, artistic work

   Synonym: œuvre

Further reading

• “opus”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

---

Italian

Etymology

Latin opus

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔ.pus/
• Rhymes: -ɔpus
• Hyphenation: ò‧pus

Noun

opus m

1. opus

---

Latin

Alternative forms

• op. (abbreviation)

Etymology

From a Proto-Indo-European *h₃ép-os (“work”), from the verbal root *h₃ep- (“to work”), whence also ops and omnis. Cognates include Sanskrit अपस् (ápas, “work, action”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈo.pus/, [ˈɔpʊs̠]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈo.pus/, [ˈɔːpus]

Noun

opus n (genitive operis); third declension

1. work, labor, accomplishment

   Synonyms: cōnātus, studium, opera, labor, intēnsiō, mōlēs, pulvis

2. workmanship, artwork, work (of art, literature, etc.)
3. need

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

   alicui opus est aliquo ― someone needs something

   opus est ― it is necessary

   mihi frumentum non opus est ― I do not need the grain

   • 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, […]

4. art, skill (when in the ablative)
5. (ecclesiastical) work (of God), deed, (miraculous) work

Declension

Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	opus	opera
Genitive	operis	operum
Dative	operī	operibus
Accusative	opus	opera
Ablative	opere	operibus
Vocative	opus	opera

Usage notes

The sense of "need" is only used in the nominative and accusative singulars.

Derived terms

• magnum opus
• manuopus (Medieval Latin)
• opera
• operor
• opusculum
• operistitium

Descendants

Note: see opera for descendants of the plural form.

• Catalan: ops
• English: opus
• Old French: ues, oes, part of estovoir
  • French: œux, œusage (dialectal, Burgundy)
• Italian: uopo
• Old Occitan: ops
• Romanian: op, opus

• Russian: о́пус (ópus)
• Old Spanish: uebos, huebos
• → Spanish: opus
• Swedish: opus

References

• “opus”, in Charlton T[homas] Lewis; Charles [Lancaster] Short (1879) […] A New Latin Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Chicago, Ill.: American Book Company; Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• “opus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• opus in Enrico Olivetti, editor (2003-2022) Dizionario Latino, Olivetti Media Communication
• opus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• opus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], 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^[2]
• “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^[3], 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, →ISBN, page 432

---

Portuguese

Verb

opus

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

---

Romanian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /oˈpus/

Adjective

opus m or 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