capriccio

American  

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

noun

capriccios, plural capricci plural

1. Music. a composition in a free, irregular style.

2. a caper; prank.

3. a whim; caprice.

---

capriccio British  

/ kəˈprɪtʃɪˌəʊ /

noun

1. music a lively piece composed freely and without adhering to the rules for any specific musical form

---

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• capriccios
  plural
• capricci
  plural

Etymology

Origin of capriccio

First recorded in 1595–1605; Italian “sudden startle,” possibly from capra “nanny goat” or capro “billy goat” (as of the skipping of a kid or goat), from Vulgar Latin capriceus “goat” (unattested); possibly from capo capo ² ( def. ) and riccio (adjective) “curly,” (noun) “hedgehog” ( see arriccio ( def. ))

Example Sentences

Finally, Conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos appeared and gave the downbeat, and the perplexed audience settled down to the first U.S. performance of Ferruccio Busoni's "theatrical capriccio," Harlequin.

From Time Magazine Archive

Glazunof's Third Symphony; Rachmaninof's capriccio "Tzigane"; and Scriabin's Pianoforte Concerto with the composer as soloist, given by the Russian Symphony Orchestra, in New York City. 1906-7.

From Annals of Music in America A Chronological Record of Significant Musical Events by Lahee, Henry Charles

She did not go so far as to wish herself a sharer in the sentiment, but she thought it heroism on her part to repress the capriccio, as the Italians say.

From Beatrix by Wormeley, Katharine Prescott

This is not the kind of prelude to pass from one key to another, but merely a capriccio to try over a piano.

From The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Volume 01 by Nohl, Ludwig

As the book is a mere capriccio, there can be no possible objection taken to it on this score.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Volume 53, No. 331, May, 1843 by Various