scherzando

1 of 2

adverb or adjective

scher·zan·do skert-ˈsän-(ˌ)dō

: in sportive manner : playfully

—used as a direction in music indicating style and tempo

allegretto scherzando

scherzando

2 of 2

noun

plural scherzandos

: a passage or movement in scherzando style

Examples of scherzando in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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Noun

Thus the mischief of the Allegretto scherzando was made more mischievous: Its huffy pace and hushed dialogues of oboes and flutes interrupted by scrubby strings. —

Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 13 May 2023 The second-movement Andante scherzando had a lovely buoyancy. —

Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 12 Apr. 2021 Parameswaran was in impressive command of the score, especially in the second movement, a scherzando dance with uneven meters and tricky cross-rhythms. —

cleveland.com, 20 Aug. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Adverb or adjective

Italian, from verbal of scherzare to joke, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle High German scherzen to leap for joy, joke; perhaps akin to Greek skairein to gambol

First Known Use

Adverb Or Adjective

circa 1811, in the meaning defined above

Noun

circa 1876, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of scherzando was circa 1811

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