sforzando adj.

late 15c., "laborious attempt, strenuous exertion," from French effort, from Old French esforz "force, impetuosity, strength, power," verbal noun from esforcier "force out, exert oneself," from Vulgar Latin *exfortiare "to show strength" (source of Italian sforza), from Latin ex "out" (see ex-) + Latin fortis "strong" (see fort).

Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt. [José Ortega y Gasset, writing of Goethe in Partisan Review, vol. xvi, part ii, 1949]

Related: Efforts "voluntary exertion," also "result of exertion."

denoting a style of painting in which tones are blended and outlines blurred and dim, giving a misty or smoky appearance, 1847, from Italian sfumato, literally "smoked," from Latin fumus "smoke," from PIE root *dheu- (1) "dust, vapor, smoke." The prefix seems to be unetymological (compare sbirro). Other Italian words in sf- that ever lived in English include sforzando, the musical instruction; sfogato "exhaled" (also in music); and sgraffiti as an art term.