French word

œuvre

Pronunciation

IPA/œvʁ/

Meaning

  • feminine nounwork

Example

Cette œuvre est magnifique.

This work is magnificent.

Illustration for œuvre (work)

More examples

Son œuvre continue d'être étudiée aujourd'hui.

His work continues to be studied today.

Core concept

A made result that can stand as an artwork, an intellectual production, or the collected output of one creator.

Common phrases

  • une œuvre d'art

    a work of art

  • une œuvre littéraire

    a literary work

  • l'œuvre de l'artiste

    the artist's work

Similar words

travail: Ordinary employment, tasks, or professional duties.
création: Something newly made as an artistic or creative work.
chef-d'œuvre: A highly distinguished work regarded as a masterpiece.

Definition in French

Résultat d'un travail créatif ou intellectuel pris comme objet culturel ou artistique, ou bien la somme des travaux d'un créateur.

Word origin

The French noun œuvre derives from Old French oevre and Latin opera, a form related to opus 'work', whose meaning extended from work to its resulting production.

Usage tips

  • Œuvre is more formal than travail or création and commonly appears in criticism, reviews, museum writing, and discussions of an artist's complete output.

Other meanings

  • achievementnoun
  • body of worknoun

Word lists with this word