A note on the tablet KN E 971 and the o-pa in the context of agricultural works

This paper aims at reassesing the meaning of Linear B term o-pa / hopā/ . This is a nomen actionis containing the same root as the alphabetical Greek verb 'ĕpō' ("to be about, busy oneself with"). Latin 'opus, ĕris' and its more recent variant 'opĕra' also stem from the same root and mean “work”, both in the abstract sense “working, activity” and concrete sense “product of labour”. It is here suggested that Linear B 'o-pa' was used in a similar way as Latin 'opera' and might be thus translated as “prestazione d’opera” in Italian and “work done” in English. This meaning fits with both its attestations in the context of pastoral and craft activities and agricultural works, where the use of the term has been so far thought to be more ambiguous.