a. Also 9 Sc. saft-. [f. SOFT adv.]
1. Of persons: Having, or speaking with, a soft or gentle voice; plausible, affable.
1609. B. Jonson, Sil. Wom., I. ii. One … who is exceedingly soft-spoken; thrifty of her speech.
1826. Miss Mitford, Village, Ser. II. (1863), 375. George Gosseltine, a sleek, smooth, silky, soft-spoken person.
1890. Dickens, Old C. Shop, xix. In gorgeous liveries as soft-spoken servants at gambling booths.
2. Of words: Spoken softly, gently or affably; persuasive.
1887. Morris, Odyss., X. 70. So I spake, and with words soft-spoken besought them thereunto.
