soft pedal

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See also: soft-pedal

English

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Etymology

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The soft pedal of a piano is usually the leftmost foot-pedal.

From soft (of sound: quiet) +‎ pedal.[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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soft pedal (plural soft pedals)

  1. (music, also attributively) The leftmost foot-pedal on most pianos which, when pushed, dampens the strings and so softens the note played.
    Synonym: una corda pedal
    Coordinate terms: sostenuto pedal, sustain pedal

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ soft pedal, n. and adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2022.; soft pedal, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

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