opus

noun

ˈō-pəs 

plural opera ˈō-pə-rə  ˈä-  also opuses ˈō-pə-səz 

: work entry 2 sense 3b

… produced a vast opus on the history of civilization.

—Norman Cousins

At present he is planning the Pumpkins' next release, a double-album opus that is bound to delight the fans who snatched up his band's last release …

—Chris Mundy

especially : a musical composition or set of compositions usually numbered in the order of its issue

the composer's first opus

"… opus numbers are meant to indicate the chronological order of musical pieces, although sometimes they indicate the order of publication rather than the exact order of composition. Sometimes it's actually scholars who make chronological catalogs long after the composers have died. …"

—Miles Hoffman

Did you know?

A literary opus is often a single novel, though the word may sometimes refer to all of a writer's works. But opus normally is used for musical works. Mendelssohn's Opus 90 is his Italian Symphony, for example, and Brahms's Op. 77 is his Violin Concerto. Since many composers' works were never given opus numbers in an orderly way, they now often have catalog numbers assigned by later scholars. So Haydn's Symphony No. 104 is Hob.104 (Hob. is short for Anthony van Hoboken, the cataloger), and Mozart's Marriage of Figaro is K.492 (K. stands for Ludwig Köchel).

Synonyms

• composition
• number
• piece
• work

Examples of opus in a Sentence

the composer's final opus was performed posthumously to great acclaim

Recent Examples on the Web

For this first opus, de Tavernost was invited by heirs to Léger’s work to delve into his monumental archives and browse through collections of drawings, paintings and books about the trailblazer of modern art, whose work spanned the first half of the 20th century. —Sofia Celeste, WWD, 12 Sep. 2024

And Welles’ opus was eventually finished, 48 years later, thanks to Netflix money. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Aug. 2024

Green Day will cap off the summer-long celebration of their Grammy-winning 2004 opus American Idiot by releasing a massive box set edition of the album this fall. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 9 Aug. 2024

The party moved to Lee’s TikTok soon afterwards, where the fantastic five flexed by miming along to Ye’s infamous 2005 Grammy Awards speech for his best rap album-winning opus, The College Dropout. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 31 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin oper-, opus (plural opera) "work, effort, product of labor, work of art," going back to Indo-European *h₃ep-os-, *h₃ep-es- "work" (whence also Sanskrit apas- "work, action"), derivative of *h₃ep- "ability, force," whence Latin op-, *ops "power, ability, wealth, resource(s)," and, with varying suffixation, Sanskrit apnas- "possession, property, work," Hittite happina- "rich," happir-, happar- "business, trade," Germanic *afla- (whence Old English afol "power, might," Old Norse afl "strength"); and, with lengthened ablaut grade, Sanskrit āpas- "work, religious act," Avestan huuāpah- "performing good deeds," Germanic *ōbjan- "to perform" (whence Old Saxon oƀian "to celebrate," Old High German uoben, uoppen "to practice, exercise")

Note: Possibly also related are Old Norse efna "to perform, fulfill," Old English efnan "to accomplish, achieve" (from Germanic *abnjan-?), but this is uncertain.

First Known Use

1808, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing opus

• magnum opus

Kids Definition

opus

noun

ˈō-pəs 

plural opera

ˈō-pə-rə,

ˈäp-ə-

also opuses ˈō-pə-səz 

: work entry 1 sense 7

especially : a musical composition or set of compositions