Weekly Word: Operose

Operose is an adjective that means “industrious, as a person” or “done with or involving much labor”.

It’s related to the words operate, operation, and even opera. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word operation comes from the Latin word operari, meaning “to work”, which is related to the Latin word opus, meaning “a work”.

The word opus was taken directly from Latin and thrown into English, and now it’s usually used to refer to a musical composition. The word opera is the plural form of opus. I’m not sure how those words developed their specific meanings over the years, but it was cool to find out how they’re related! Or at least that’s my idea of an exciting evening.