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scherzo

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word scherzo

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1339, anonymous Bolognese poem
Ultimate origin
Lombardic *skerzōn

Pronunciation

  • /ˈsker.t͡so/[1]

Forms

scherzo m (plural scherzi)[1] Older and dialect forms include Old Italian scérzo, Old Italian scrizo and Old Italian scrizzo.[2]

Etymology

It is a noun formed in Italian from the verb scherzare (“to joke, play”).[3][4][5][1] DELI, Nocentini and the TLIO take the verb from Lombardic *skerzōn (“to frolic, jump about”), and compare Middle High German scherzen (“to leap for joy, enjoy oneself”) and German scherzen (“to joke”).[3][4][6] Wiktionary traces it further to Proto-Germanic *skertaną (“to hop, jump”) and Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerd- (“to dance, jump”).[1]

Zaccaria thought instead that the verb came straight from Middle High German, probably after the year 1000 through the contacts between Italians and Germans, since it is unknown in the older Germanic languages and in the other Romance languages.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is an anonymous Bolognese poem of 1339.[6] DELI and GRADIT date the word to Petrarch, before 1374, with the sense “the act of joking”: “Ingiuria da corruccio e non da scherzo” (an insult made in anger, not in jest).[3][5][8]

Semantic evolution

A joke can turn sour: scherzo meant “a nasty trick, an unpleasant surprise” in the phrase fecero de bructi scrizi (they played some ugly tricks) at Nepi in 1464, and Sassetti wrote un male scherzo in 1576.[3] Per scherzo “not in earnest” is recorded before 1552, scherzi d'acqua for fountains with playful jets in 1679, and scherzo di natura, a freak of nature, in Tommaseo in 1872, after Milanese scherz de natura (1843).[3]

In music scherzo was first a light vocal composition of the 17th century;[3][5][9][10] DELI dates the sense “capricious piece of music” to 1765, and later it named a lively movement in triple time, first as part of a symphony and then, in the Romantic period, a piece for piano on its own.[3][5][9][10] The musical word was borrowed by German (Schertzi, 1619), French (1821) and English (1852).[10][11] The sense “something very easy” is recorded only in 1959.[3]

Timeline

  • 1339 – An anonymous Bolognese poem has the first record.[6]
  • Before 1374 – Petrarch uses scherzo “jest”.[3]
  • 1464 – Scrizi “nasty tricks” at Nepi.[3]
  • 1619 – German Schertzi is recorded in music.[10]
  • 1765 – The musical sense is recorded in Italian.[3]
  • 1821 – French scherzo is recorded.[10]
  • 1852 – English scherzo is recorded.[11][10]
  • 1959 – The sense “something very easy” is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Joking, jest: saying or doing something not seriously: L'ha detto per scherzo, ma nessuno ha riso.[5][12][9]
  2. A joke, a prank: I compagni gli hanno fatto uno scherzo con il telefono.[5][9][13][1]
  3. An unpleasant surprise; a dirty trick: Il gelo di aprile ha giocato un brutto scherzo alle viti.[5][12][9]
  4. (figurative) Something very easy, a trifle: Per lei tradurre quel contratto è stato uno scherzo.[5][12][13][1]
  5. (literature) A short poem in a light, playful tone.[5][9][13]
  6. (music) A scherzo: a lively piece or movement in triple time.[5][9][1]

Word family

  • scherzoso
  • scherzosamente
  • scherzosità
  • scherzetto
  • scherzevole

Usage notes

Common phrases are scherzi a parte (joking apart), per scherzo (for fun), neanche per scherzo (not on any account), stare allo scherzo (to take a joke) and scherzo da prete, a joke in bad taste.[5][13][14] DEI notes that schèrzo, with an open vowel, is widely heard even in Tuscany.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 17, 975
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  7. ^ Zaccaria, Enrico (1901), L'elemento germanico nella lingua italiana: lessico con appendice e prospetto cronologico, Bologna: Treves, p. 456
  8. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  10. ^ a b c d e f Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  12. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  13. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  14. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  15. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3385
Cite this entry

“Scherzo.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/scherzo. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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