An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Scherz

by Friedrich Kluge

Scherz, masculine, ‘joke, jest,’ from Middle High German schërz, masculine, ‘pleasure, play’; allied to Modern High German scherzen, verb, from Middle High German schërzen, ‘to cut capers, hop, amuse oneself’; compare Middle High German scharz, ‘leap.’ These cognates, which are found neither in the Middle High German classical writers, in Old High German, nor in Old Teutonic generally, are met with, however, in Italian scherzare, ‘to jest,’ borrowed from German.