opus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈɔ.pʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈɔː.pus]^[1]

Forms

opus n (genitive operis); third declension^[1] An inscription of the 3rd century BC has the spelling opos.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *opes- (“work”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep-os (“work”), a neuter s-stem from the root Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- (“to work”), which also gives ops and omnis.^[4][1][5] Cognate with South Picene opesaúom, Umbrian osatu and Oscan úpsannúm, Sabellic forms of a verb “to erect” built on the same noun, and further with Sanskrit अपस् (ápas-, “work, action”), Avestan huuāpah- (“doing good work”), Old English efnan (“to perform”) and Old High German uoben (“to practise”).^[4][1] De Vaan notes that operātus “busy” is an adjective formed from opera, and that the verb operārī was back-formed from it later.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is attested from Naevius onwards.^[4] A statue base of the 3rd century BC reads Pomponi opos, “the work of Pomponius”,^[2] and Plautus speaks of a man worn out by dirty farm work.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It meant work to be done, a task, and especially the building of earthworks and fortifications; also work as an occupation or as forced labour, effort (magno opere, later magnopere, to a great degree), and the activity of a thing.^[2][6] It then meant workmanship, an exploit, and the product of work: a handiwork, a work of art, a literary work, a building, siegeworks, and a type of masonry (opus tectorium, album opus).^[2]

The phrase opus est, “there is need”, with the dative of the person and the ablative of the thing, is so distinct that Georges and Gaffiot treat it as a separate indeclinable noun.^[2][7][8] Ovid and Martial use it of sexual intercourse.^[2]

Medieval Latin used it for labour service (opus castelli, castle work), for the fabric fund of a church (opus ecclesiae), for divine worship (opus Dei), for alms and for a miracle.^[9][10] It survives in Italian uopo, Old French ues and Romanian op,^[1] while opera gave Italian opera and French œuvre.^[11] English borrowed opus in 1809 for a work, especially a musical composition.^[11]

Timeline

• 3rd century BC – A statue is signed as the work (opos) of Pomponius.^[2]
• c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.^[4]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it for farm work and in opus est, “there is need”.^[2][10]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of workmanship and of his own literary work.^[2][10]
• c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of siegeworks.^[2][10]
• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius has album opus, stucco.^[2][10]
• 860 – A Freising document has a medieval sense.^[10]
• 1809 – English Opus is borrowed into English for a work, especially a musical one.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. Work to be done, a task; work as an occupation; forced labour.^[2][6]
2. Building work, fortifications; siegeworks.^[2][6]
3. Activity, effort, as in magno opere, to a great degree.^[2]
4. Workmanship, style of construction; a type of masonry.^[2][1]
5. An exploit, an achievement.^[2]
6. The product of work: a creation, a work of art, a literary work, a building.^[2][6]
7. (colloquial) A business, an affair.^[2]
8. opus est – there is need (of something).^[2][7]
9. (Medieval Latin) Labour service; the fabric fund of a church; divine worship; alms; a miracle.^[9]

Word family

• opera
• opifex
• opusculum
• peropus
• magnopere
• maximopere
• nimiopere
• quantopere
• sesquiopera
• tantopere
• operistitium

Related words

• omnis
• ops
• English opus
• English opera
• English operate

Usage notes

In opus est the thing needed stands in the ablative (mihi opus est opera tua, “I need your help”) or, as subject, in the nominative, and the perfect participle can be used impersonally (cauto opus est, “care is needed”).^[2][7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
11. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com