scherzo

Where does the word "scherzo" come from? It comes from Italian scherzo, and was adopted directly into English (1800s).

Scherzo’s story begins in Italian: scherzo meant “a joke, jest.” Literally a joke, a lively, playful musical movement. It reached English by 1800s as scherzo. Italian 'joke'; Beethoven replaced the minuet with the scherzo in symphonies. Today, scherzo means a lively, often playful movement in a musical work, especially a symphony.

1. Stage 1 · Italian · 1700s scherzo "a joke, jest", literally a joke, a lively, playful musical movement.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1800s scherzo "a lively, playful musical movement", Italian 'joke'; Beethoven replaced the minuet with the scherzo in symphonies.