magnum opus

1. A great work, especially a literary or artistic masterpiece.
2. The greatest single work of an artist, writer, or composer.

[Latin : magnum, neuter of magnus, great + opus, work.]

(MAG-num OH-puhs)
noun (plural magnum opuses or magna opera)

A great work of literature, music, art, etc., especially the finest work of an individual.

[From Latin magnum, neuter of magnus (large), opus (work).]

Usage:

"Bespectacled, bearded and balding, Mr. Chkhartishvili is faintly ill at ease about fame. For years, he earned his living translating Japanese literature and working on what he still considers his magnum opus, a gloomy book entitled 'The Writer and Suicide.' His idea of a good time is to stroll around a cemetery." — Guy Chazan; Roll Over, Dostoyevsky: Serious Russian Writers Reinvent the Thriller; The Wall Street Journal (New York); Feb 25, 2002.

noun

An outstanding and ingenious work: chef-d'oeuvre, masterpiece, masterwork. See good/bad.

A great undertaking; the great work of a man's life.

Look up magnum opus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Magnum opus (sometimes opus magnum), the Latin for "great work" may refer to

• a term in alchemy and occultism, see Great Work
• the "masterpiece" of any given author or artist

as a title

• Magnum Opus (album), an album by Yngwie J. Malmsteen
• Magnum Opus , a song by The Gregorian Lounge-Chillout

See also

• Work of art
• Henosis
• Pièce de résistance

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