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magnum opus

 Origin

magnum opus

 
noun
a great work, especially the chief work of a writer or artist: Proust's magnum opus is Remembrance of Things Past.
Origin:
1785–95; < Latin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Magnum opus is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
magnum opus
 
—n
a great work of art or literature, esp the greatest single work of an artist
 
[Latin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

magnum opus
"masterpiece," from L., lit. "great work" (see magnum + opus).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
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 American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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