Operate Covers Surgery, Machines and Businesses
To operate is to work or to make something work. The Latin root simply means to labour, which is why the word spread so widely.
To operate is to work, to control a machine, to run a business, or to perform surgery. The Latin *operari* means to work or labour, from *opus*, a work — the same *opus* that names a composer's numbered pieces. English simply applied it wherever work is being done.
- To control a machine. *Operate the crane.*
- To function. *The lift is not operating.*
- To run a business or service. *They operate twelve routes.*
- To perform surgery. *Surgeons operated overnight.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | operate | Operate the valve. |
| Past | operated | Operated on twice. |
| Noun | operation | A long operation. |
| Person | operator | A crane operator. |
| Adjective | operational | Fully operational. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The machine operates on low voltage.Functioning.
- They had to operate immediately.Surgery; operate on a patient.
- The company operates across three countries.Business.
The work family
- Opus — a work, especially a numbered composition
- Operation — the act, or the surgical procedure
- Cooperate — work together
- Manoeuvre — from *manu operari*, to work by hand
- Opera — Italian for works, the plural of opus
From Latin *operari*, to work, from *opus*, work. *Opera* is the plural of *opus*, so an opera is literally a set of works combined into one.
Operate on or operate?
Surgeons operate on a patient. Machines are simply operated.
Is *opera* related to *operate*?
Yes. Opera is the Latin plural of opus, a work. The art form takes its name from combining several kinds of work: music, drama and staging.