scherzo
[ skert-soh ]
noun,plural scher·zos, scher·zi [skert-see]. /ˈskɛrt si/. Music.
a movement or passage of light or playful character, especially as the second or third movement of a sonata or a symphony.
Origin of scherzo
1First recorded in 1850–55; from Italian: literally, “joke,” derivative of scherzare “to joke,” of Langobardic origin (compare German Scherz “a joke, jest”)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use scherzo in a sentence
She could think of no tunes but dances—andantes turned scherzi, the Handelian largo became a Castilian tango.
We Can't Have Everything | Rupert Hughes
British Dictionary definitions for scherzo
scherzo
/ (ˈskɛətsəʊ) /
nounplural -zos or -zi (-tsiː)
a brisk lively movement, developed from the minuet, with a contrastive middle section (a trio): See minuet (def. 2)
Origin of scherzo
1Italian: joke, of Germanic origin; compare Middle High German scherzen to jest
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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