a capriccio

American  

[ah kuh-pree-chee-oh, ah kah-preet-chaw] / ˌɑ kəˈpri tʃiˌoʊ, ˌɑ kɑˈprit tʃɔ /

adverb

Music.

1. at whatever tempo or with whatever expression the performer wishes.

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Etymology

Origin of a capriccio

< Italian: according to caprice

Example Sentences

He trembled lest he should have been the plaything of a whim, for he had heard what a capriccio might mean in an Italian.

From Albert Savarus by Marriage, Ellen

But presently I did begin a capriccio, which I like very much, and it do go ever louder and louder; and I forgot that it was midnight and that everybody was asleep.

From Lives of Poor Boys Who Became Famous by Bolton, Sarah K.

This poem ought not to be considered more than as a capriccio, or sport of the fancy, on which he has expended much labour to little purpose.

From Lives of the English Poets From Johnson to Kirke White, Designed as a Continuation of Johnson's Lives by Cary, Henry Francis

But presently I did begin a capriccio, which I like very much, and it did go ever louder and louder; and I forgot that it was midnight and that everybody was asleep.

From Eclectic School Readings: Stories from Life by Marden, Orison Swett

An adagio may set a gouty father to sleep, and a capriccio may operate successfully on the nerves of a valetudinary mother.

From Primitive Psycho-Therapy and Quackery by Lawrence, Robert Means