magnum opus
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noun
a great work, especially the chief work of a writer or artist: Proust's magnum opus is Remembrance of Things Past.
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Origin of magnum opus
Borrowed into English from Latin around 1785–95
Words nearby magnum opus
magnolia warbler, magnoliid, magnox, magnox reactor, magnum, magnum opus, Magnus Annus, Magnus effect, Magnus hitch, Magog, magot
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use magnum opus in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for magnum opus
magnum opus
noun
a great work of art or literature, esp the greatest single work of an artist
Word Origin for magnum opus
Latin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for magnum opus
magnum opus
[ (mag-nuhm oh-puhs) ]
The most important work in a person's career, especially in literature, art, or scholarship: “Moby Dick was Melville's magnum opus.” From Latin, meaning “great work.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.