opus

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(ō'pəs) pronunciation
n., pl., o·pe·ra (ō'pər-ə, ŏp'ər-ə), or o·pus·es.
A creative work, especially a musical composition numbered to designate the order of a composer's works.

[Latin.]



When denoting a musical composition and in the phrase magnum opus, the recommended pronunciation is oh-pǝs, with a long ō. The plural is either opera (op-ǝ-rǝ) or opuses (oh-pǝ-siz).

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noun

  1. Something that is the result of creative effort: composition, piece, production, work. See make/unmake.
  2. An issue of printed material offered for sale or distribution: publication, title, volume, work. See words.

(Lat.)

‘Work’: a term used with a number to identify a work or group of works in a composer's output. Opus numbers are not always a reliable guide to chronology.



Latin for ‘work’, as intended to designate construction, or arrangement of materials in construction.

opus (ō'pəs) [Lat.,=work], in music, term used in cataloging a composer's works, designating either a single composition or a group published together or considered a unit. Opus numbers assigned by the composer are of greater value than those assigned by the publisher. Beethoven was the first composer whose use of opus numbers was consistent enough to be of value.


"Work". With a number, used to show the order in which the works by a given composer were written or published. Opus numbers are most often used for composers who catalogued their own works.

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A musical work.

pronunciation She took her accordion and moved to a cabin in the woods to finish her opus.

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categories related to 'opus'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to opus, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Opus.

Opus may refer to:

Contents

Art and music

Publishing

Opus the Penguin, title character of the strip
  • Opus, student newspaper of the University of Newcastle, Australia
  • Opus (1984–1988), magazine of classical music record reviews
  • Kraken Opus, publisher of premium, outsized editions on subjects including sports teams and celebrities

Computing and technology

Other uses

See also


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Dansk (Danish)
n. - opus, arbejde

Nederlands (Dutch)
afzonderlijke compositie (muziek), kunstwerk, opus

Français (French)
n. - opus

Deutsch (German)
n. - Opus, Werk

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (πνευματικό) έργο, δημιουργική εργασία, μουσική σύνθεση

Italiano (Italian)
opera

Português (Portuguese)
n. - opus (m), ópera (f)

Русский (Russian)
опус

Español (Spanish)
n. - opus

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - opus, (musik)verk

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
作品

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 作品

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 작품, 저작

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 作, 著作, 作品

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) قطعه موسيقيه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮יצירה אמנותית, אופוס, סדרת יצירות, מספר המסמן את מקומה של היצירה בסדר היצירות של אמן‬


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op.
op. (abbreviation)
opus lateritum (architecture)