op·er·a

1 [op-er-uh, op-ruh]
noun
1.
an extended dramatic composition, in which all parts are sung to instrumental accompaniment, that usually includes arias, choruses, and recitatives, and that sometimes includes ballet. Compare comic opera, grand opera.
2.
the form or branch of musical and dramatic art represented by such compositions.
3.
the score or the words of such a composition.
4.
a performance of one: to go to the opera.
5.
( sometimes initial capital letter ) an opera house or resident company: the Paris Opera.
Origin:
1635–45; < Italian: work, opera < Latin, plural of opus service, work, a work, opus

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an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

o·pe·ra

2 [oh-per-uh, op-er-uh]
noun Chiefly Music.
a plural of opus.

o·pus

[oh-puhs]
noun, plural o·pus·es or especially for 1, 2, o·pe·ra [oh-per-uh, op-er-uh] .
1.
a musical composition.
2.
one of the compositions of a composer, usually numbered according to the order of publication.
3.
a literary work or composition, as a book: Have you read her latest opus? Abbreviation: op.
Origin:
1695–1705; < Latin: work, labor, a work

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
opera1 (ˈɒpərə, ˈɒprə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  an extended dramatic work in which music constitutes a dominating feature, either consisting of separate recitatives, arias, and choruses, or having a continuous musical structure
2.  the branch of music or drama represented by such works
3.  the score, libretto, etc, of an opera
4.  a theatre where opera is performed
 
[C17: via Italian from Latin: work, a work, plural of opus work]

opera2 (ˈɒpərə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
a plural of opus

opus (ˈəʊpəs, ˈɔp-) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n , pl opuses, opera
1.  an artistic composition, esp a musical work
2.  (often capital) (usually followed by a number) a musical composition by a particular composer, generally catalogued in order of publication: Beethoven's opus 61 is his violin concerto
 
[C18: from Latin: a work; compare Sanskrit apas work]

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

opera
"a drama sung," 1644, from It. opera, lit. "a work," from L. opera "work, effort" (L. plural regarded as fem. sing.), secondary (abstract) noun from operari "to work," from opus (gen. operis) "a work" (see opus). Defined in "Elson's Music Dictionary" as, "a form of musical
composition evolved shortly before 1600, by some enthusiastic Florentine amateurs who sought to bring back the Greek plays to the modern stage."
"No good opera plot can be sensible. ... People do not sing when they are feeling sensible." [W.H. Auden, 1961]
As a branch of dramatic art, it is attested from 1759. First record of opera glass "small binoculars for use at the theater" is from 1738. Soap opera is first recorded 1939, as a disparaging reference to daytime radio dramas sponsored by soap manufacturers.

opus
1809, "a work, composition," esp. a musical one," from L. opus "a work, labor, exertion" (cf. It. opera, Fr. oeuvre, Sp. obra), from PIE base *op- (Gmc. *ob-) "to work, produce in abundance," originally of agriculture later extended to religious acts (cf. Skt. apas- "work, religious act;" Avestan hvapah-
"good deed;" O.H.G. uoben "to start work, to practice, to honor;" Ger. üben "to exercise, practice;" Du. oefenen, O.N. æfa, Dan. øve "to exercise, practice;" O.E. æfnan "to perform, work, do," afol "power"). The plural, seldom used, is opera.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

opera definition


A musical drama that is totally or mostly sung. A&idie;da, Carmen, and Don Giovanni are some celebrated operas. A light, comic opera is often called an operetta.

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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Example sentences
At the border between opera and musical comedy, the barbed wire is obviously
  down.
But the book contained cyphers, and that does not seem to involve a soap opera
  with returning lovers, but something else.
She wore a miniskirt, fishnet stockings, opera gloves to her elbows.
In any case, you've landed yourself in a soap opera that you could have avoided
  by being more careful in the past.
Slang
horse opera
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