sourdine

English

Etymology

From French sourdine.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /sʊəˈdiːn/

Noun

sourdine (plural sourdines)

1. (music, historical) A muted trumpet.
2. (music, historical) A mute; a damper.

Adjective

sourdine (comparative more sourdine, superlative most sourdine)

1. Muffled, muted; subdued.
   • 1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin, published 2011, page 436:

     The streets had been considerably quieter in the sourdine Past.

Anagrams

• roundies

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian sordina.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

sourdine f (plural sourdines)

1. mute (something that reduces the emitted sound)
2. (music) mute

Derived terms

• la mettre en sourdine

Verb

sourdine

1. inflection of sourdiner:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “sourdine”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.