sordine

Sordine, sor′din, n. a mute, damper, or other device to soften or deaden the sound of a stringed instrument.—advs.

Here the idea of modesty subdues passion like a wonderful sordine, and surrender and tenderness intertwine with the ideals of modesty.

Dr. Burney states that it has no more tone than a violin with a sordine.

But with or without the sordine Hamsun's production is equally seductive, equally entrancing and compelling.