The term serenade can be traced back to a 1656 dictionary, where it was defined as a romantic open-air musical performance, particularly performed at night. Its origins can be found in the French sérénade and Italian serenata, both meaning “calm sky”. The root word, sereno, translates to “open air” and is derived from an adjective meaning “clear” or “calm”, which is related to the word serene. It is believed that the Italian word was influenced by sera, meaning “evening”. The term began to refer to musical compositions for serenades in the 1720s and has been used as a verb since 1671.
