Sotto voce

For the musical usage, see Sotto voce (music).

Sotto voce (/ˈsɒtoʊ ˈvoʊtʃi, -tʃeɪ/,[1][2] Italian: [ˈsotto ˈvoːtʃe]; literally 'under the voice')[3][4] means intentionally lowering the volume of one's voice for emphasis. The speaker gives the impression of uttering involuntarily a truth which may surprise, shock, or offend. Galileo Galilei's (probably apocryphal) utterance "Eppur si muove" ("And yet [the Earth] moves"), spoken after deciding to recant his heliocentric theory, is a legendary example of a sotto voce utterance.[5]

  1. ^ Publishers, HarperCollins. "The American Heritage Dictionary entry: sotto voce". www.ahdictionary.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  2. ^ "SOTTO VOCE definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary". Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  3. ^ Brown, Emily Freeman (2015). A Dictionary for the Modern Conductor. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 319. sotto voce. (It., lit. "under the voice.")
  4. ^ Harnsberger, Lindsey C. (1997). Essential Dictionary of Music Definitions. Los Angeles: Alfred Pub. Co. p. 54. sotto voce ... Under the voice, in soft voice
  5. ^ Did Galileo Truly Say, 'And Yet It Moves?' A Modern Detective Story Archived 25 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Scientific American. Mario Livio, 6 May 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2022.