capriccio

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English

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A. Salucci, Capriccio (c. 1650) sense 3

Etymology

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Borrowed from Italian capriccio. Doublet of caprice.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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capriccio (plural capriccios or capricci)

  1. A sudden and unexpected or fantastic motion; a caper (from same etymology, see below); a gambol; a prank, a trick.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:prank
    • 1873, Charles Reade, chapter VII, in A Simpleton: A Story of the Day […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC:
      She used to smile at my capriccios; and once she kissed me—actually.
  2. A fantastical thing or work.
    Synonyms: caprice; see also Thesaurus:whim
    • c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii], page 239, column 2:
      Will this Capricio hold in thee, art ſure?
    • 1700, Tom Brown, Amusements Serious and Comical, calculated for the Meridian of London, page 10:
      If any Man for that reaſon has an Inclination to divert himſelf, and Sail with me round the Globe, to ſuperviſe almoſt all the Conditions of Humane Life, without being infected with the Vanities, and Vices that attend such a Whimſical Perambulation; let him follow me, who am going to Relate it in a Stile, and Language, proper to the Variety of the Subject: For as the Caprichio came Naturally into my Pericranium, I am reſolv’d to purſue it through Thick and Thin, to enlarge my Capacity for a Man of Buſineſs.
    • 1827, [Benjamin Disraeli], chapter IX, in Vivian Grey, volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, book V, page 174:
      “Poor fellow!” thought Vivian, “I fear, with all thy wit and pleasantry, thou art, after all, but one of those capriccios which Nature sometimes indulges in, merely to show how superior is her accustomed order to eccentricities, even accompanied with rare powers.”
  4. (painting) A type of Renaissance landscape painting that places particular works of architecture in an unusual and often fictional setting.
    • 2004, Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty […], 1st US edition, New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:
      Above the drawing-room fireplace there was a painting by Guardi, a capriccio of Venice in a gilt rococo frame […]
    • 2014, Ettore Maria Mazzola, “Capricci Capricciosi”, in Lucien Steil, editor, The Architectural Capriccio: Memory, Fantasy and Invention, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., →ISBN, page 385:
      Capricci, far from being decorative images without meaning, probably express the sensation that the world, even though built by man with pretensions of eternity, is instead subjugated to the dominance of time […]
  5. (music) A piece of music, usually fairly free in form and of a lively character.
    • 1822, [Thomas Love Peacock], Maid Marian, London: […] T[homas] Hookham […], pages 66–67:
      The friar and Matilda had often sung duets together, and had been accustomed to the baron’s chiming in with a stormy capriccio, which was usually charmed into silence by some sudden turn in the witching melodies of Matilda.
    • 1909 April, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “The Renaissance at Charleroi”, in Roads of Destiny, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, →OCLC:
      The stillness returned, save for the little voices of the night—the owl's recitative, the capriccio of the crickets, the concerto of the frogs in the grass.
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Translations

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References

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Further reading

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Afrikaans

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Etymology

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Either from Dutch capriccio or from English capriccio, ultimately from Italian capriccio.

Pronunciation

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  • Hyphenation: cap‧ri‧ccio

Noun

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capriccio (plural capriccios)

  1. (music) capriccio

Italian

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Etymology

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From earlier caporiccio, from capo +‎ riccio, literally “curly head”. People believed that curly hair was a sign for a capricious and unruly character.[1]

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /kaˈprit.t͡ʃo/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -ittʃo
  • Hyphenation: ca‧prìc‧cio

Noun

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capriccio m (plural capricci)

  1. whim, fancy, caprice, quirk
  2. tantrum
    Synonym: bizza
  3. (music, painting) capriccio
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Descendants

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References

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  1. ^ “capriccio” in: Alberto Nocentini, Alessandro Parenti, “l'Etimologico — Vocabolario della lingua italiana”, Le Monnier, 2010, →ISBN

Further reading

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  • capriccio in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Upper Sorbian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from German Capriccio.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /kaˈpʀit͡sjɔ/
  • Rhymes: -it͡sjɔ
  • Hyphenation: ca‧p‧ric‧cio
  • Syllabification: cap‧ric‧cio

Noun

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capriccio n or m inan

  1. (music) capriccio

Usage notes

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Although the original gender in German is masculine, it was necessary to convert it to neuter to make it declinable, but the masculine gender is still used colloquially.

Declension

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Neuter

Declension of capriccio (neuter hard stem)
singular dual plural
nominative capriccio capriccii capriccia
genitive capriccia capricciow capricciow
dative capricciu capricciomaj capricciam
accusative capriccio capriccii capriccia
instrumental capricciom capricciomaj capricciemi
locative capricciu capricciomaj capricciach
vocative capriccio capriccii capriccia

Masculine (colloquial)

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

References

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