sourdine

American  

[soor-deen] / sʊərˈdin /

noun

Music.

1. mute.

2. kit.

3. an obsolete member of the oboe family.

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sourdine British  

/ sʊəˈdiːn /

noun

1. a soft stop on an organ or harmonium

2. another word for sordino

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Etymology

Origin of sourdine

1670–80; < French: damper, mute < Italian sordina (feminine); see sordino

Example Sentences

Their embrace gradually became a whispered conversation, at first interrupted, but then accompanied by subdued sobbing, which was checked and began again, like music with sourdine.

From In God's Way A Novel by Bj?rnson, Bj?rnstjerne

Many are like the music en sourdine of Paul Verlaine in his "Chanson D'Automne" or "Le Piano que Baise une Main Frele."

From Chopin : the Man and His Music by Huneker, James

The more complete sourdine, which muted all the strings by contact of a long strip of leather, acted as the staccato, pizzicato, or pianissimo.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 385, May 19, 1883 by Various