humoresque

American  

[hyoo-muh-resk, yoo-] / ˌhyu məˈrɛsk, ˌyu- /

noun

1. a musical composition of humorous or capricious character.

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humoresque British  

/ ˌhjuːməˈrɛsk /

noun

1. a short lively piece of music

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Other Word Forms

• humoresquely adverb

Etymology

Origin of humoresque

1875–80; humor + -esque, modeled on German Humoreske

Example Sentences

The film's two main characters retain their sanity the way men have always done in the shadow of death, with a gallows humoresque.

From Time Magazine Archive

But think of a lively and humoresque clock that does not tick and takes only an hour to record a day.

From The Art of the Moving Picture by Lindsay, Vachel

He sat down in the evening to that old Russian merchant trader's piano, in our headquarters, and rambled from chords and airs to humoresque and rhapsodies.

From The History of the American Expedition Fighting the Bolsheviki Campaigning in North Russia 1918-1919 by Jahns, Lewis E.

A suite for four hands, "In Summer Fields," contains some happy manifestations of ability, such as "A June Roundelay," "The Dryad's Grove," and, especially, a humoresque "Junketing," which is surely destined to become a classic.

From Contemporary American Composers Being a Study of the Music of This Country, Its Present Conditions and Its Future, with Critical Estimates and Biographies of the Principal Living Composers; and an Abundance of Portraits, Fac-simile Musical Autographs, and Compositions by Hughes, Rupert

She was Fashion's humoresque, except that Fashion has no sense of humor.

From Humoresque A Laugh on Life with a Tear Behind It by Hurst, Fannie