I. sfȯ(r)tˈsän(ˌ)dō adjective (or adverb)
Etymology: Italian, verbal of sforzare to force, from s- (from Latin ex- ) + forzare to force, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin fortiare to attack, compel — more at force
: accented — used as a direction in music to indicate that a single tone or chord is to be sounded more loudly than the rest of a passage; abbr. sf, sfz ; symbol >
II. noun
( plural sforzandos -dōz ; or sforzan·di -dē)
: an accented tone or chord