| 释义 |
‖ sotto voce, adv., a., and n.|ˈsotto ˈvotʃe|
[It. sotto under + voce voice.]
1. In a subdued or low voice:
a. Of speech.
1737Chesterfield in Common Sense 10 Sept. (1738) 226 And in a half Voice, or Sotto voce, discusses her solid Trifles in his Ear. 1828Lytton Pelham II. iii, A whole host of hangers⁓on, who were disputing, by no means sotto voce, whether Lady Gander was mad or not? 1853‘C. Bede’ Verdant Green ii. vi, ‘As though they were bursting with envy—not to say with laughter,’ added Mr. Bouncer, sotto voce. 1891Farrar Darkn. & Dawn xii, ‘Even proverbs warn me against him.’ He quoted two, sotto voce, to Titus.
b. Of singing (or playing).
1775Ann. Reg. ii. 65 Gabrieli..sung all her airs in what they call sotto voce, that is, so low, that they can scarcely be heard. 1780Mirror No. 89, That sort of singing below the full powers of the performer's voice, which the Italians call singing sotto-voce. 1801Busby Dict. Mus., Sotto Voce, an expression implying that the movement, or the passage, over which it is written is to be played or sung moderately loud. 1872C. King Sierra Nevada x. 218 Then sotto voce, for we were very near, he sang again.
2. fig. Quietly, privately.
1819Scott Let. in Lockhart (1837) IV. vii. 226 Will you make these enquiries for me sotto voce?
3. As adj. Uttered, etc., in an undertone.
1809Malkin Gil Blas iv. viii. ⁋6 There was not a sotto voce passage during the whole visit. 1818Scott Rob Roy viii, ‘God forbid!’ said the Justice, in a tone of sotto-voce deprecation. 1859Geo. Eliot A. Bede liii, David's sotto voce performance of ‘My love's a rose without a thorn’. 1885L'pool Daily Post 7 May 5/3 There was a suggestion of..joviality in his sotto voce sallies.
4. As n. A remark made in an undertone.
1868H. A. Stern Captive Missionary viii. 185, I only heard from two an ironical sotto voce, ‘Well, will you walk again?’ |