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sourdine

 - 4 dictionary results

sour⋅dine

  [soor-deen]
Use sourdine in a Sentence
–noun Music.
1. mute (def. 10).
2. kit 2 .
3. an obsolete member of the oboe family.
Origin:
1670–80; < F: damper, mute < It sordina (fem.); see sordino

kit

2  [kit]
–noun
a violin or rebec small enough to be carried in the pocket, used by dancing masters in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Also called pochette, sourdine.

Origin:
1510–20; orig. uncert.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To sourdine
sour·dine   (sŏŏr-dēn')   
n.  

  1. An obsolete double-reed instrument with a soft tone.

  2. A mute, especially one for a violin.

  3. A stop on an organ producing a low, muted tone.


[French, from Italian sordina, feminine of sordino, a mute, diminutive of sordo, deaf, mute; see sordino.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

kit  (2)
"small fiddle used by dancing teachers," 1519, probably a shortening of O.E. cythere, from L. cithara, from Gk. kithara (see guitar).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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