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A.Word.A.Day--magnum opus

(MAG-num OH-puhs) (plural magnum opuses or magna opera)

noun: A great work of literature, music, art, etc., especially the finest work of an individual.

[From Latin magnum, neuter of magnus (large), opus (work).]

"Bespectacled, bearded and balding, Mr. Chkhartishvili is faintly ill at ease about fame. For years, he earned his living translating Japanese literature and working on what he still considers his magnum opus, a gloomy book entitled 'The Writer and Suicide.' His idea of a good time is to stroll around a cemetery."
Guy Chazan; Roll Over, Dostoyevsky: Serious Russian Writers Reinvent the Thriller; The Wall Street Journal (New York); Feb 25, 2002.

See more usage examples of magnum opus in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

This week's theme: Words about books

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