scherzo

Meaning

Noun

• 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.

Origin

• Borrowed from Italian scherzo ("joke, play"), from scherzare, from Langobardic *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").