Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A mute for an instrument.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Same as mute, 3. See con sordini, and senza sordini (under senza). These terms are occasionally used with reference to the soft pedal of the pianoforte.
  • noun Same as pochette.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a mute for a violin

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Italian, diminutive of sordo, deaf, mute, from Latin surdus.]

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Examples

  • _Con sordino_ and _pizzicato_ passages occur as often for the _cello_ as for the violin.

    Music Notation and Terminology Karl Wilson Gehrkens 1928

  • The _mute_ (or _sordino_) is a small clamp made of metal, wood, or ivory, which when clipped to the top of the bridge causes the vibrations to be transmitted less freely to the body of the violin, giving rise to

    Music Notation and Terminology Karl Wilson Gehrkens 1928

  • He was using a _sordino_ and playing it very softly; but I was not mistaken.

    The Lost Stradivarius John Meade Falkner 1895

  • This reminiscence probably influenced his fancy also in another direction; for it seemed to him that very faintly, as though played far off, and with the _sordino_, he could hear the air of the _Gagliarda_.

    The Lost Stradivarius John Meade Falkner 1895

  • As they reached his ears through the heavy stone roof they were more harmonious, all harshness was softened; the _sordino_ of the vaulting produced the effect of a muffled peal.

    The Nebuly Coat John Meade Falkner 1895

  • Additionally, many of these articulations may be played altra corda (on an adjoining string) or con sordino (muted).

    KVR News: Top Stories 2009

  • While you were playing the _Gagliarda_ to-night, I could almost have imagined that someone in an adjacent room was playing the same air with a _sordino_, so distinct was the echo. "

    The Lost Stradivarius John Meade Falkner 1895

Comments

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  • a violin mute

    September 20, 2009

  • From Italian sordo, deaf.

    September 20, 2009

  • sordomudo would be a deaf mute

    sardino might be a deaf fish

    September 20, 2009