scherzo

/ˈskɛətsəʊ/

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”).

scherzo means 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. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 83 out of 100.

scherzo is pronounced /ˈskɛətsəʊ/.

Why “scherzo” is a great word

SCHERZO — [Noun] A musical composition or movement, typically in a fast triple meter, characterized by a playful, light, or briskly vigorous character. 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”). Unlike the stately, courtly minuet it historically supplanted, or the more placid, lyrical intermezzo, the scherzo is a formal jest, a structured whirlwind of mischief. It is the sound of a ghost rattling the chandelier in a ballroom, a sudden gust of wind through a solemn house, and a perfectly timed harmonic punchline—a fleeting proof that the grandest architecture of sound must sometimes make room for a joke.

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.“At seven Val knocked – three shorts and one long, out of the scherzo of Beethoven’s Fifth – and I rushed to open.”