scherzo
UK /ˈskɛətsəʊ/ · US /ˈskɛəɹ(ˌ)tsoʊ/ noun
Forms scherzos scherzi
- noun (music) A piece of music or a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony; especially, a piece of music played in a playful manner.
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian scherzo (“joke, play”), from scherzare (“to joke, jest”), from Lombardic *skerzan (“to jump merrily, enjoy oneself, jest”), from Proto-Germanic *skertaną (“to hop, jump”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerǝd- (“to dance, jump”). Akin to Middle High German scherzen (“to frolic, jump merrily, hop up and down”) (modern German scherzen (“to joke”), Scherz), Norwegian skjerta (“to joke”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A playful, humorous movement, commonly in 3-4 measure, which often takes the place of the old minuet and trio in a sonata or a symphony.
Etymology [It.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “scherzo”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details