origin of sforzando

[Bob]

Does that have anything to do with Francesco Sforza?

[vviola]

It is just the gerund form of the Italian verb sforzare, meaning "to force". You could find an Italian etymology book and trace the origin. I'm sure it comes from a Latin word.

[retrouvailles]

The literal translation of sforzando is "forcing", if that helps a bit more.

[john11inc]

c.1300, from O.Fr. force, from L.L. fortia, from neut. pl. of L. fortis "strong"

So, Latin to French to Italian.

[stevebob]

c.1300, from O.Fr. force, from L.L. fortia, from neut. pl. of L. fortis "strong"

That's the etymology of "force," not sforzando.

So, Latin to French to Italian.

French isn't an element in the etymology of the modern Italian word sforzando:

[Italian, gerund of sforzare, to use force : s-, intensive pref. (from Latin ex-; see  ex-) + forzare, to force (from Vulgar Latin *fortiāre, from Latin fortis, strong; see  fortis).]

(From The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition (at dictionary.com).)

While a multitude of words passed into English from Old French following the Norman invasion, Italian evolved directly from local varieties of Vulgar Latin.  "Force" is derived from Old French; sforzando, like much of classical music's technical vocabulary, is a loanword directly from Italian.

[john11inc]

That's the etymology of "force," not sforzando.

French isn't an element in the etymology of the modern Italian word sforzando:

(From The American HeritageŽ Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition (at dictionary.com).)

While a multitude of words passed into English from Old French following the Norman invasion, Italian evolved directly from local varieties of Vulgar Latin.  "Force" is derived from Old French; sforzando, like much of classical music's technical vocabulary, is a loanword directly from Italian.

Uh.  That's what the internet told me.  Are you accusing the internet of being wrong?  Do you know how ludicrous that is?  The internet is always correct.

[Bob]

I was wondering where the concept came from. 

I still remember being surprised to hear how they invented the crescendo.

[liordavid]

I have been taught that u dont need force to play loud . All u need to do is to is press the key faster. but sforzando calls for force