opera

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɒp.ə.ɹə/, /ˈɒp.ɹə/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈɑ.pɚ.ə/, /ˈɑ.pɹə/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈɔp.ə.ɹə/, /ˈɔp.ɹə/

Etymology 1

English Wikipedia has an article on:

opera

Wikipedia

Borrowed from Italian opera. Doublet of oeuvre, opus, and ure.

Noun

opera (countable and uncountable, plural operas or opere)

1. (music) A theatrical work, combining drama, music, song and sometimes dance.
2. (music) The score for such a work.
3. A building designed for the performance of such works; an opera house.
   • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VI, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

     “I don't mean all of your friends—only a small proportion—which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, idle, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera, the gorged dowagers, […], the jewelled animals whose moral code is the code of the barnyard—!"

4. A company dedicated to performing such works.
5. (by extension) Any showy, melodramatic or unrealistic production resembling an opera.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• aria
• ballet
• masque
• melodrama
• musical comedy
• oratorio
• recitative
• singspiel
• Appendix:Glossary of opera

Etymology 2

From Latin opera, plural of opus.

Noun

opera

1. plural of opus; a collection of work.

Anagrams

• pareo

Azerbaijani

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

opera (definite accusative operanı, plural operalar)

1. opera

Declension

Basque

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /opeɾa/
• Rhymes: -eɾa
• Hyphenation: o‧pe‧ra

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish ópera, from Italian opera.

Noun

opera inan

1. opera (theatrical work, score)
2. opera (score)
3. opera (building)

Declension

Etymology 2

Verb

opera

1. Short form of operatu (“to operate”).

Further reading

• "opera" in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia , euskaltzaindia.eus
• “opera” in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia , euskaltzaindia.eus

Catalan

Verb

opera

1. inflection of operar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

opera f

1. opera

Declension

Related terms

Further reading

• opera in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• opera in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• opera in Akademický slovník cizích slov, 1995, at prirucka.ujc.cas.cz

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian opera, from Latin opera, plural of opus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈoː.pəˌraː/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ope‧ra

Noun

opera f (plural opera's, diminutive operaatje n)

1. opera

Derived terms

• operacomponist
• rockopera
• operazanger
• operazangeres

Related terms

• oeuvre
• operette
• opus

Esperanto

Etymology

From opero (“opera”) +‎ -a.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Rhymes: -era
• Hyphenation: o‧pe‧ra

Adjective

opera (accusative singular operan, plural operaj, accusative plural operajn)

1. of or relating to opera

Hungarian

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian opera, from Latin opera.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ope‧ra
• Rhymes: -rɒ

Noun

opera (plural operák)

1. (music) opera (a theatrical work combining drama, music, song and sometimes dance)

   Synonyms: dalmű, zenedráma

2. (music) opera, opera house (building designed for the performance of such works)

   Synonyms: operaház, dalszínház

Declension

Derived terms

References

Further reading

• opera in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔ.pe.ra/

• Audio (IT)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔpera
• Hyphenation: ò‧pe‧ra

Etymology 1

From Latin opera.

Alternative forms

• opra, ovra (archaic)

Noun

opera f (plural opere)

1. work

   Synonym: lavoro

2. means, help, services

   Synonyms: mezzo, aiuto, servigi

3. (music) opus
4. (music) opera

   Synonym: melodramma

5. institution, institute, society

   Synonyms: istituzione, istituto

Derived terms

Related terms

• manodopera
• operaio
• operare
• operetta
• operista
• operoso

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

opera

1. inflection of operare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• pareo

Ladin

Noun

opera f (plural operes)

1. work

Latin

Etymology

From opus, operis n (“work”), via reinterpretation of its nominative plural form as a feminine singular noun.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈo.pe.ra/,
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈo.pe.ra/,

Noun

opera f (genitive operae); first declension

1. work, exertion, effort

   Synonyms: cōnātus, opus, studium, labor, cūra, mōlīmen, intēnsiō, mōlēs, pulvis

   operae non est (+ infinitive) ― there is no need to, there is no time to

   • 44 BCE, Cicero, De Officiis 2.4.14:

     Quī dēnique ex bēstiīs frūctūs aut quae commoditās, nisi hominēs adiuvārent, percipī posset? Nam et quī prīncipēs inveniendī fuērunt, quem ex quāque bēluā ūsum habēre possēmus, hominēs certē fuērunt, nec hōc tempore sine hominum operā aut pāscere eās aut domāre aut tuērī aut tempestīvōs frūctūs ex iīs capere possēmus; ab eīsdemque et, quae nocent, interficiuntur et, quae ūsuī possunt esse, capiuntur.

     What produce of beasts, then, or what commodity could be obtained, if men didn't assist? For those that first found out what use we can have from each beast, were surely humans, and we cannot in the present either pasture them or break them in or take care of them or obtain the timely fruit from them without the labour of humans; and by the same are killed those who do harm and captured those that can be of use.

2. service
   • 62 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Epistulae ad familiārēs 13.9.3:

     Cn. Pūpium, quī est in operīs eius societātis

     Gnaeus Pupius, who is in the service of that association

3. (especially with dō) care, attention bestowed on something (or someone, especially a teacher)
   1. with dative
      • 163 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Heauton Timorumenos 1.1.58–60:

        Ego ĭstūc aetātis nōn amōrī operam dabam
        sed in Asiam hinc abiī propter pauperiem atque ibī
        simul rem et glōriam armīs bellī repperī.

        When I was your age I wasn't giving much attention to love
        but instead I left for Asia because of poverty and there
        I found fortune and glory by the arms of war.

      • c. 69 CE – 122 CE, Suetonius, De vita Caesarum 1 4.period1:

        Cēterum, compositā sēditiōne cīvīlī, Cornēlium Dolabellam cōnsularem et triumphālem repetundārum postulāvit; absolūtōque Rhōdum sēcēdere statuit, et ad dēclīnandam invidiam et ut per ōtium ac requiem Apollōniō Molōnī clārissimō tunc dīcendī magistrō operam daret.

        Then, with the civil unrest quietened, he charged Cornelius Dolabella, former consul who had triumphed, with extortion; with him acquitted, he resolved to leave for Rhodes, to escape the hate as well as to pay attention in rest and recreation to Apollonius Molon, then the most distinguished teacher of speaking.

   2. (uncommon) with ad + accusative
      • c. 180 BCE, Plautus, Casina pro.21–22:

        Vōs omnīs opere magnō esse ōrātōs volō
        benignē ut operam dētis ad nostrum gregem.

        I want you all to be asked with great care
        to kindly give attention to our company of actors.

   3. with ut/nē + subjunctive
      • c. 4 BCE – 65 CE, Seneca the Younger, De vita beata 2.3:

        Omnem operam dedī, ut mē multitūdinī ēdūcerem et aliquā dōte nōtābilem facerem.

        I took all the care to withdraw myself from the multitude and by some talent make myself distinguished.

      • c. 48 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Civili 1.5.3:

        Dent operam cōnsulēs, praetōrēs, tribūnī plēbis—quīque prō cōnsulibus sunt ad urbem—nē quid rēs pūblica dētrimentī capiat.

        May the consuls, praetors, tribunes of the people—and those who are near the City—take care that nothing bad happens to the Republic.

   4. with the subjunctive alone
      • 62 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Epistulae ad familiārēs 10.21.6:

        Ut exercitum locīs habeam opportūnīs, prōvinciam tuear, etiam sī ille exercitus descīerit, omniaque integra servem dabō operam, quoad exercitūs hōc summittātis parīque fēlīcitāte rem pūblicam hīc vindicētis.

        I shall take care to keep the army in suitable locations, to protect my province even if that army defects, and to preserve the whole position uncompromised, until you send armies to my support and defend the commonwealth with just as much success.

   5. (Old Latin, rare) with the infinitive
      • 165 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Hecyra 4.1.37–38:

        Sī modestē ac rārō haec fēcit, nōnne ea dissimulāre nōs
        magis hūmānum est quam dare operam id scīre, quī nōs ōderit?

        If he did these things reasonably and unfrequently, would it not be more human
        to turn a blind eye to that than take the trouble to find out, due to which he might hate us?

4. (in the ablative and with possesive pronouns) one's fault, agency, doing
   • c. 200 BCE – 190 BCE, Plautus, Captivi 3.5.19–22:

     TYNDARUS. Fateor, omnia
     facta esse ita ut tū dīcis, et fallāciīs
     abiisse eum abs tē meā operā atque astūtiā;
     an, obsecrō hercle tē, id nunc suscēnsēs mihī?

     TYNDARUS. I confess that all
     were done just like you say, and by deceit
     he went away from you by my doing and astuteness;
     and, please, by Hercules, now you are inflamed at me?

5. (Old Latin) (in the ablative, with experior) one's own experience
   • c. 195 BCE, Plautus, Trinummus 4.1.5–8:

     Atque ego, Neptūne, tibi ante aliōs deōs grātiās agō atque abeō summās;
     nam tē omnēs saevomque sevērumque atque āvidīs mōribus commemorant,
     spurcificum, immānem, intolerandum, vēsānum: contrā operā expertus,
     nam pol placidō tē et clementī meō ūsque modō, ut voluī, ūsus sum in altō.

     And I, Neptune, give thanks to you above other gods and in the highest;
     for all remember you cruel and strict and with the greediest character,
     obscene, frightful, intolerable, crazy: unlike how I've known you in my experience,
     for, by Pollux, in my own gentle and merciful way have I benefitted from you, as I wanted, at sea.

6. (Old Latin) (with ūnā or eādem) manner, way
   • c. 200 BCE – 190 BCE, Plautus, Captivi 3.4.30–31:

     Et quidem Alcumeus atque Orestēs et Lycurgus posteā
     ūnā operā mihi sunt sodālēs quā iste.

     And then Alcumeus and Orestes and Lycurgus
     are my friends in the same manner as this one is.

7. spare time for something (see #Usage notes)
   • c. 60 BCE – 54 BCE, Cicero, Epistulae ad Quīntum frātrem 3.4.4:

     Dē versibus quōs tibi ā mē scrībī vīs, dēest mihi quidem opera sed abest etiam ἐνθουσιασμός, quī nōn modo tempus sed etiam animum vacuum ab omnī cūrā dēsīderat.

     Regarding the verses which you want composed by me to you, I don't have the time, but the afflatus is absent too, which needs not only time but also a soul empty of every worry.

   • 59 BC–AD 17, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita libri 4.8.3:

     Ortum autem initium est reī, quod in populō per multōs annōs incēnsō neque differrī cēnsus poterat neque cōnsulibus, cum tot populōrum bella imminerent, operae erat id negōtium agere.

     The beginning of the office appeared because in the people devastated in the course of many years neither could a census be held, nor was it worth the time of the consuls when wars from so many tribes were threatening.

8. a day's labour
   • 4 CE – c. 70 CE, Columella, De Re Rustica 2.12.18:

     Cētera legūmina occupant operās sexāgintā, id est mēnsēs duōs.

     The other vegetables require sixty days' work, that is, two months.

9. (metonymically) day labourer, farmhand
   • BCE 30, Horace, Satires 2.7.117–118:

     Ōcius hinc tē
     nī rapis, accēdēs opera agrō nōna Sabīnō.

     If you don't make off
     from here faster, you'll become the ninth farmhand on the Sabine field.

   1. (by extension) any kind of worker
      • c. 77 CE – 79 CE, Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia 33.72–73:

        Et tamen in silice facilior existimātur opera; est namque terra ex quōdam argillae genere glāreā mixta—gangadiam vocant—prope inexpugnābilis. Cuneīs eam ferreīs adgrediuntur et īsdem malleīs, nihilque dūrius putant, nisi quod inter omnia aurī famēs dūrissima est. Perāctō opere cervīcēs fornicum ab ultimō caedunt. Dat signum rīma, eamque sōlus intellegit in cacūmine eius montis vigil. Hic vōce, nūtū ēvocārī iubet operās pariterque ipse dēvolat. Mōns frāctus cadit ab sēsē longē fragōre quī concipī hūmānā mente nōn possit, aeque et flātū incrēdībilī. Spectant victōrēs ruīnam nātūrae. Nec tamen adhūc aurum est nec sciēre esse, cum fōderent, tantaque ad perīcula et inpendia satis causae fuit sperāre quod cuperent.

        And still the work is considered to be easier in flint; for there is earth, consisting of some kind of clay, mixed with gravel—they call it gangadia—almost impenetrable. They approach it with iron wedges and with the same hammer machines , and they consider nothing harder, save for the fact that hunger for gold is the hardest among all things. With the work done, they cut down the supports of the arched roofs beginning from the last one. A fissure gives the sign, and only the watchman in the peak of that mountain notices it. He orders by voice and by gesture the miners to be called outside, and rushes down in the same manner. At a distance, the mountain, broken, falls by itself with a crash which cannot be conceived by the human mind, and with an incredible blast as well. The victors watch the ruin of nature. And the gold is not even there yet, nor did they know whether there was any when they were digging, and hoping for what they desired was enough of a reason to go through all these dangers and expenses.

   2. (derogatory, politics) hired aider, tool, rowdy
      • c. 69 CE – 122 CE, Suetonius, De vita Caesarum 2 3.period1:

        C. Octāvius pater a prīncipiō aetātis et rē et existimātiōne magnā fuit, ut equidem mīrer hunc quoque ā nōnnūllīs argentārium atque etiam inter dīvīsōrēs operāsque campestrēs prōditum; amplīs enim innūtrītus opibus honōrēs et adeptus est facile et ēgregiē administrāvit.

        The father Gaius Octavius was from the beginning of his age of great wealth as well as reputation, so that I wonder that he too is alleged by some to have been a money-changer and even among the electoral bribe distributors and aiders in the Campus Martius; for, brought up with ample riches, he obtained honours with ease as well as administering them excellently.

10. deed, activity, effort
    • 59 BC–AD 17, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita libri 41.4.6:

      Ante omnēs īnsignis operā fuit C. Popilī equitis; Sabellō cognōmen erat. Is pede sauciō relictus longē plūrimōs hostium occīdit.

      More distinguished than others in deeds was Gaius Popilius the knight; Sabello was his cognomen. He, left behind with a wounded leg, killed the most enemies by far.

11. handiwork
    • c. 209 BCE, Plautus, Asinaria 2.4.18–19:

      Iussīn, sceleste, ab iānuā hoc stercus hinc auferrī?
      Iussīn columnīs dēicī operās araneōrum?

      Didn't I order, you scoundrel, this dung to be carried away from the door?
      Didn't I order the handiwork of spiders to be removed from the columns?

Usage notes

The word, in its “spare time” meaning, is frequently used in the ante-classic period, and especially by Plautus, in the locution operae esse, meaning 'to be worth the time'. Later on, it is characteristic of Livy's style and of the archaising tendencies of Silver Latin.

Declension

First-declension noun.

Related terms

• opella
• operor
• operae prētium

Descendants

Noun

opera

1. nominative/accusative plural of opus

References

Further reading

• "opera", in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "opera", in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• opera in Enrico Olivetti, editor (2003-2024), Dizionario Latino, Olivetti Media Communication
• opera in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Latvian

Noun

opera f (4 declension)

1. opera

Declension

Lithuanian

Lithuanian Wikipedia has an article on:

opera

Wikipedia ^lt

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

ópera f (plural óperos) stress pattern 1

1. opera

Declension

Maltese

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian operare.

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Verb

opera (imperfect jopera, past participle operat, verbal noun operar)

1. to operate

Conjugation

Related terms

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:

opera

Wikipedia ^no

Etymology

From Italian opera (per musica).

Noun

opera m (definite singular operaen, indefinite plural operaer, definite plural operaene)

1. an opera
2. an opera house (also operahus)

Derived terms

• operahus
• operasanger, operasangerinne
• såpeopera

References

• “opera” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:

opera

Wikipedia ^no

Etymology

From Italian opera (per musica).

Noun

opera m (definite singular operaen, indefinite plural operaer or operaar, definite plural operaene or operaane)

1. an opera
2. an opera house (also operahus)

Derived terms

• operahus
• såpeopera

References

• “opera” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Occitan

Verb

opera

1. inflection of operar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

opera

Wikipedia ^pl

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian opera, from Latin opera.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔˈpɛ.ra/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛra
• Syllabification: o‧pe‧ra

Noun

opera f

1. (music) opera (theatrical work)
2. (architecture) opera house (building)

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• opera in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• opera in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: o‧pe‧ra
• Rhymes: -ɛɾɐ

Verb

opera

1. inflection of operar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Romanian

Etymology

From French opérer, from Latin operare.

Verb

a opera (third-person singular present operează, past participle operat) 1st conj.

1. to operate

Conjugation

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Italian opera, from Latin opera.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ôpera/

Noun

ȍpera f (Cyrillic spelling о̏пера)

1. opera

Declension

Spanish

Verb

opera

1. inflection of operar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Swahili

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya)

  (file)

Noun

opera (n class, plural opera)

1. opera

Swedish

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

opera c

1. an opera; a musical theatre play
2. an opera house; an institution or building where opera is performed

Declension

Related terms

• operaföreställning
• operahus
• operett

See also

• libretto
• musikal

Tagalog

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish operar (“to operate”). Doublet of ubra.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔopeˈɾa/,
• Hyphenation: o‧pe‧ra

Noun

operá (Baybayin spelling ᜂᜉᜒᜇ)

1. (medicine) act of operating (in surgery)

Derived terms

Related terms

• operado/operada

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Spanish ópera (“opera”), from Italian opera, from Latin opera (“work, labor”). Doublet of obra.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʔopeɾa/,
• Hyphenation: o‧pe‧ra

Noun

óperá (Baybayin spelling ᜂᜉᜒᜇ)

1. (music) opera

Related terms

• operasyon
• opereta

Further reading

• “opera”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish اوپه‌را, اوپارا, اوپرا, اوپره (opera), from Italian opera, from Latin opera.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔ.pe.ɾa/

Noun

opera (definite accusative operayı, plural operalar)

1. (music) opera
2. opera house

Declension

Welsh

Etymology

From English opera.

Noun

opera f (plural operâu)

1. opera

Related terms

• operatig (“operatic”)

Mutation

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “opera”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies