Etymograph

English

scherzo

Scherzo comes from Italian scherzo ‘joke, play’, from Lombardic *skerzan ‘to jump merrily, enjoy oneself, jest’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerǝd-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kerǝd-‘to dance, jump’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skertaną‘to hop, jump’reconstructed
  3. Lombardicmodern*skerzan‘to jump merrily, enjoy oneself, jest’reconstructed
  4. Italianc. 1300–presentscherzare‘to joke, jest’
  5. Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentscherzo‘joke, play’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1980same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kerǝd-‘to dance, jump’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skertaną‘to hop, jump’reconstructed
  3. Lombardicmodern*skerzan‘to jump merrily, enjoy oneself, jest’reconstructed
  4. Italianc. 1300–presentscherzare‘to joke, jest’
  5. Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentscherzo‘joke, play’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1980same form

Earliest quotation: 1980, Anthony Burgess: “At seven Val knocked – three shorts and one…”

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *skertaną ‘to hop, jump’

short, shirt, skirt, 3 more

Today it means

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.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerǝd- / scherzo

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