soft pedal

See also: soft-pedal

English

Etymology

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

From soft (“of sound: quiet”) +‎ pedal.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɒf(t) ˌpɛdl̩/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɔf(t) ˌpɛdəl/, /ˈsɑf(t)-/
• Hyphenation: soft ped‧al

Noun

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

• soft-pedal (verb)

Translations

leftmost foot-pedal on most pianos which softens the note played

• Finnish: hiljennyspedaali
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can
• Welsh: pedal chwith m

Further reading

• soft pedal on Wikipedia.Wikipedia