magnoperate

English

WOTD – 8 April 2021

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /mæɡˈnɒpəɹeɪt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /mæɡˈnɑpəɹeɪt/
• Hyphenation: mag‧no‧per‧ate

Etymology 1

PIE word
*méǵh₂s

From Latin magnopere (“exceedingly, greatly; earnestly, vehemently”) +‎ -ate (verb-forming suffix), modelled after operate, further from the univerbation of magnō (ablative neuter singular of magnus (“big, large; (figuratively) great, important”)) +‎ opere (ablative singular of opus (“labour, toil, accomplishment, work; work (of art, literature, etc.)”)), literally “with great zeal, effort, work done”, ultimately from the roots of Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s (“big, great”)) and Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- (“to toil, work; to make; ability; force”)).

Verb

magnoperate (third-person singular simple present magnoperates, present participle magnoperating, simple past and past participle magnoperated) (rare)

1. (transitive) To magnify the greatness of (someone or something); to exalt.
   • 1610, Arthur Hopton, “To the Right Honovrable, Robert Earle of Salisbvry, [...]”, in Bacvlvm Geodæticvm, sive Viaticvm. Or The Geodeticall Staffe, […], London: […] Nicholas Okes for Simon Waterson, […], →OCLC:

     [A]fter-ages may rightly admire what noble Mecœnas it was that ſo inchayned the aſpiring wits of this vnderſtanding age to his only cenſure, which will not a little magnoperate the ſplendor of your well knowne Honour, to theſe ſucceeding times.

2. (intransitive) To act grandly.
   • 1906 December 28, “His Majesty’s Theatre. ‘Antony and Cleopatra.’ [theatre review]”, in The Times, number 38,215, London: George Edward Wright, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3, column 6:

     Meanwhile you cannot help liking his [Herbert Beerbohm Tree's] Antony—which, of course, is quite the right frame of mind. There is something large and liberal and genial in the man; you are made to feel that, in [Lord] Byron's phrase, he is used to "magnoperating."

   • 1921 March, George Sampson, “Sir Edward Elgar”, in The Bookman, volume LIX, number 354, London: Hodder and Stoughton […], →OCLC, page 220, column 2:

     At the ris of an anti-climax I will add that another mark of [Edward] Elgar's greatness is that he can do little things and do them well. He has "magnoperated" with the best, but like the other masters he has known how to unbend, and some of his music has become popular in the best sense. It is not given to many musicians to find a song of theirs become, as "Land of Hope and Glory" has, an accepted unofficial national anthem.

   • 1926, James Agate, “Not a Free Art”, in A Short View of the English Stage, 1900–1926, London: Herbert Jenkins […], →OCLC, page 47:

     He [the historian] must not write of the theatre as though it were an art-form magnoperating in the void. He must not attempt to judge it as he would a free art trying to express itself in the best possible way and with everybody anxious to help.

   • 1934 September 2, James Agate, “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Critic”, in More First Nights, London: Victor Gollancz Ltd., published 1937, →OCLC, page 36:

     Mr. Cochran magnoperated last night at the Palace, Manchester, and yesterday afternoon the dramatic critic of this paper minoperated at a horse-show in a field adjacent to Manchester.

   • 1948 August, C. L. R. Sastri, “Scholarship in Journalism”, in The Modern Review, volume LXXXXIV, number 2 (number 500 overall), Calcutta, West Bengal: Nibaran Chandra Das, Prabasi Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, section VII, page 138, column 1:

     [Charles Prestwich] Scott in the Manchester Guardian and [Henry William] Massingham in the Daily Chronicle (and, later, in the Nation) and [John Alfred] Spender in that "old sea-green incorruptible," the Westminster Gazette, and [Alfred George] Gardiner in the Daily News "magnoperated," in the late Mr. James Agate's beautiful phrase, as no "foursome" had ever been privileged to do.

   • 1953, Louis Kronenberger, editor, The Best Plays of 1952–1953 (The Burns Mantle Yearbook), New York, N.Y., Toronto, Ont.: Dodd, Mead & Company, →OCLC, page 38:

     […] Michael Redgrave and Peggy Ashcroft retired to Stratford-on-Avon, where they magnoperated in “The Merchant of Venice," "Antony and Cleopatra" and "King Lear"; […]

Derived terms

• magnoperation, magnoperator, magnoperous (apparently all hapax legomena)

Translations

to magnify the greatness of (someone or something) — see exalt

to act grandly

Etymology 2

From magnum opus +‎ -ate (verb-forming suffix), in this sense coined by the English poet Lord Byron (1788–1824): see the 1821 quotation, further from Latin magnum opus, from magnum (nominative neuter singular of magnus (“big, large; (figuratively) great, important”)) +‎ opus (“accomplishment, work; work (of art, literature, etc.)”); see further at etymology 1.

Verb

magnoperate (third-person singular simple present magnoperates, present participle magnoperating, simple past and past participle magnoperated)

1. (intransitive, rare) To work on one's magnum opus (“great or important work of art, literature, or music, a masterpiece; best, most popular, or most renowned achievement of an artist or author, representing their major life effort”).
   • 1821 June 22, Lord Byron, “Letter CCCCXXXV. To Mr. [Thomas] Moore.”, in Thomas Moore, editor, Letters and Journals of Lord Byron: With Notices of His Life, […], volume II, London: John Murray, […], published 1830, →OCLC, page 493:

     Your dwarf of a letter came yesterday. That is right;—keep to your 'magnum opus'—magnoperate away.

   • 1922 June 10, “Dickens and Griffith of the Movies”, in The Literary Digest, volume LXXIII, number 11 (number 1677 overall), New York, N.Y.: Funk & Wagnalls Company, […], →OCLC, pages 31–32, column 2:

     He [David Wark Griffith] magnoperates (to use a word of Byron's), he plans in the grand style, he lives for ideas; but he is perfectly modest about it. [Quoting The Times.]

Translations

to work on one's magnum opus

Further reading

• masterpiece on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• pomegranate