opera
/ˈɒp(ə)rə/·오페라·noun
a dramatic work set to music and sung
FrenchCEFR B1
Root
Italian 'opera' (work, composition), from Latin opus/opera (work)
Latin opus, plural opera (works) → Italian opera (a work; specifically a musical-dramatic work, 17th c.) → English opera (1640s)
In a word
Latin opus means 'work'; its plural is opera ('works'). Italian solidified this word into 'a unified work of music, drama, and stage' in the 17th century. From the same Latin root English also took other paths — opera (work → musical drama), opus (a numbered single work), operate (set to work), cooperate (work together). A soprano's aria at La Scala and a surgeon's verb "operate" are sibling branches from one Latin root: opus.
Examples
They went to the opera last night.
Italian opera reached its peak in the 19th century.
The opera house opened in 1875.
Related
operaticoperettaopuscooperateoperation