English
opus
Opus comes from Latin opus ‘work, labor, accomplishment’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-‘to work, toil, make’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃épos‘work’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opos‘work’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopus‘work, labor, accomplishment’
- Englishtodayopus
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-‘to work, toil, make’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃épos‘work’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opos‘work’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopus‘work, labor, accomplishment’
- Englishtodayopus
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- ‘to work, toil, make’
office, official, copy, bus, opera, omnibus, oeuvre, officiate, copious, omnivore, opulence, officiant, officious, 20 more
through Proto-Italic *opos ‘work’
cooperation, cooperate, 8 more
through Latin opus ‘work, labor, accomplishment’
Today it means
noun A work of music or set of works with a specified rank in an ordering of a composer's complete published works.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- / opus