humoresque

[ hyoo-muh-resk or, often, yoo- ]

/ ˌhyu məˈrɛsk or, often, ˌyu- /

noun

a musical composition of humorous or capricious character.

Nearby words

hummus, humongous, humor, humoral, humoral immune response, humoresque, humorist, humorous, humour, humoursome, hump

Origin of humoresque

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

Related forms

hu·mor·esque·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for humoresque

She played, as once before she had played when life seemed sad and tragic, the "Humoresque."
The Street of Seven Stars|Mary Roberts Rinehart
The unearthly beings meet us in all guises, and answer our every mood, whether it be serious or awed, satiric or humoresque.
The Supernatural in Modern English Fiction|Dorothy Scarborough
But think of a lively and humoresque clock that does not tick and takes only an hour to record a day.
The Art Of The Moving Picture|Vachel Lindsay

British Dictionary definitions for humoresque

humoresque

/ (ˌhjuːməˈrɛsk) /

noun

a short lively piece of music

Word Origin for humoresque

C19: from German Humoreske, ultimately from English humour

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012