soft pedaln.adj.
/ˈsɒf(t) ˌpɛdl/, U.S. /ˈsɔf(t) ˌpɛdəl/, /ˈsɑf(t) ˌpɛdəl/ A. n.
1. Music. A pedal on a piano, operated with the left foot, which can be pressed to make the sound softer. Also: a similar pedal on another keyboard instrument.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > stringed keyboards > [noun] > pianoforte > pedal > soft or shifting
soft pedal1819
sustaining pedal1879
celeste1880
shifting pedal1880
1819 Morning Chron. 20 Feb. Loud and soft pedals, made in the best manner.
1856 M. C. Clarke tr. H. Berlioz Treat. Mod. Instrumentation 79 A pedal much less used than that which raises the dampers..is the soft pedal (or one-string pedal) [Fr. la Pédale unicorde].
1876 J. Stainer & W. A. Barrett Dict. Musical Terms 108/1 Con sordini,..With the soft pedal at the pianoforte held down.
1939 N. Marsh Overture to Death viii. 88 Miss Campanula..lifted her big left foot and planked it down on the soft pedal.
1994 Keyboard Player Sept. 3/3 Other features include digital celeste, digital reverb, sustain and soft pedal and a 2 x 25w speaker system.
2013 E. D. Bomberger MacDowell 159 As a pianist, MacDowell was often cited for his imaginative use of both the soft pedal and the damper pedal.
2. figurative, with reference to restraint or moderation in behaviour or approach. Cf. soft-pedal v. 2.
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the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > restrained or moderate behaviour > [noun]
i-metOE
hovec1175
metc1175
methec1175
measurec1225
measure?c1225
temperancea1340
methefulnessc1350
temperurec1380
mannera1382
mannernessa1382
sobernessc1384
attemperancec1386
measurablenessa1400
amesingc1400
meanheada1425
mediocrity?a1425
moderation?a1425
moderancea1460
temperancy1526
mean1531
modesty1531
temperature1536
measure-keeping1556
moderateness1571
moderature1574
sobriety1582
mediety1583
moderacy1601
temperateness1609
reserve1660
medium1693
soft pedal1899
met1932
1899 G. Ade Fables in Slang 124 He didn't let go of any Christmas Presents, or work the Soft Pedal when he had a chance to apply a Crimp to some Widow who had seen Better Days.
1911 A. B. Reeve Poisoned Pen 255 But can't it be done with the soft pedal?
1925 J. Dos Passos Manhattan Transfer iii. iii. 314 I'd put the soft pedal on the bonus stuff though.
1940 M. C. Terrell Colored Woman in White World xlii. 407 My friends are constantly telling me that I must put the soft pedal on some of my activities.
2002 Times (Nexis) 27 Sept. 15 He has the capacity to bring them to their feet with a powerful combination of wit and passion. Yesterday, however, he seemed to have his foot on the soft pedal.
B. adj. (attributive). Frequently with hyphen.
1. Music. Produced using the soft pedal.
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1860 Musical World 14 Apr. 233/1 I can use the vox humana for the solo, and accompany it on the swell with a soft pedal bass.
1880 G. Grove Dict. Music II. 723/1 He..thus produces something of the shifting soft pedal timbre.
1920 Piano Tone Building (Proc. Piano Technicians' Conf. 1916–18) 14 It is not so noticeable in an upright as in a grand—this change to a soft pedal tone.
2011 A. M. Bauer Ligeti's Laments iv. 101 Lontano's ‘theme’ is represented by a soft pedal tone.
2. Done with, or expressive of, restraint or moderation.
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1875 M. P. Nichols tr. F. Wieck Piano & Song vi. 66 What tenderness of feeling! what a soft-pedal sentiment!
1911 N.Y. Times 15 Oct. vi. 5/6 The setting was just right for some soft pedal, ‘Hearts and Flowers’ conversation.
1961 Sunday Express 23 Apr. 1/2 President de Gaulle—whose soft-pedal policy..has sparked off this third rebellion.
2003 Sunday Tribune (Ireland) (Nexis) 12 Jan. 9 The fieriness of the dishes was..rather on the soft-pedal side.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1819