English

Noun

capriccio ‎(plural capriccios)

1. A sudden and unexpected or fantastic motion; a caper (from same etymology, see below); a gambol; a prank, a trick.
2. A fantastical thing or work; a caprice.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

3. A type of landscape painting that places particular works of architecture in an unusual setting.
   • 2005, Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty, (Bloomsbury Publishing, paperback, page 5)

     Above the drawing-room fireplace there was a painting by Guardi, a capriccio of Venice in a gilt rococo frame […]

4. A piece of music, usually fairly free in form and of a lively character.

Translations

References

• J[ohn] A. Simpson and E[dward] S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ISBN 978-0-19-861186-8.

Italian

Etymology

From the Italian expression capo riccio "curly head". People believed that curly hair was a sign for a capricious and unruly character.^[1]

Noun

capriccio m ‎(plural capricci)

1. whim, fancy, caprice, quirk
2. tantrum
3. (music, painting) capriccio

Synonyms

• (tantrum) bizza

Related terms

• capriccioso
• incapricciarsi

References

1. ↑ “capriccio” in: Alberto Nocentini, Alessandro Parenti, “l'Etimologico — Vocabolario della lingua italiana”, Le Monnier, 2010, ISBN 978-88-00-20781-2