forte - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

forte1

Audio Help [fawrt, fohrt or, for 1, fawr-tey] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a strong point, as of a person; that in which one excels: I don't know what her forte is, but it's not music.

2.	the stronger part of a sword blade, between the middle and the hilt (opposed to foible).

[Origin: 1640–50; earlier fort < MF (see fort); disyllabic pron. by assoc. with forte²

]

—Synonyms 1. talent, skill, excellence, strength, specialty; knack, bent.

—Pronunciation note In the sense of a person's strong point (He draws well, but sculpture is his forte), the older and historical pronunciation of forte is the one-syllable

Audio Help [fawrt] Pronunciation Key or

Audio Help [fohrt]. The word is derived from the French word fort "strong." A two-syllable pronunciation

Audio Help [fawr-tey] is increasingly heard, especially from younger educated speakers, perhaps owing to confusion with the musical term forte, pronounced in English as

Audio Help [fawr-tey] and in Italian as

Audio Help [fawr-te]. Both the one- and two-syllable pronunciations of forte are now considered standard.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
forte

To learn more about forte visit Britannica.com

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

for·te2

Audio Help [fawr-tey; It. fawr-te] Pronunciation Key Music.

–adjective

1.	(a direction) loud; with force (opposed to piano).

–adverb

2.	(a direction) loudly.

–noun

3.	a passage that is loud and forcible, or is intended to be so.

[Origin: 1715–25; < It < L fortis strong

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

for·te¹ Audio Help (fôr'tā', fôrt, fōrt) Pronunciation Key
n.

Something in which a person excels.
The strong part of a sword blade, between the middle and the hilt.

[French fort, from Old French, strong, from Latin fortis; see fort.]

Synonyms: These nouns denote something at which a person is particularly skilled: Writing fiction is her forte. The theater is his métier. The professor's specialty was the study of ancient languages. Mountain climbing is really my thing.

Usage Note: The word forte, coming from French fort, should properly be pronounced with one syllable, like the English word fort. Common usage, however, prefers the two-syllable pronunciation, (fôr'tā'), which has been influenced possibly by the music term forte borrowed from Italian. In a recent survey a strong majority of the Usage Panel, 74 percent, preferred the two-syllable pronunciation. The result is a delicate situation; speakers who are aware of the origin of the word may wish to continue to pronounce it as one syllable but at an increasing risk of puzzling their listeners.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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for·te² Audio Help   (fôr'tā') Pronunciation Key
adv.   & adj. Abbr. f
In a loud, forceful manner. Used chiefly as a direction.

n.   A note, passage, or chord played forte.

[Italian, strong, forte, from Latin fortis; see bhergh-² in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
forte

1648, from Fr. fort "strong point (of a sword blade)," also "fort," from M.Fr. fort (see fort); final -e- added 18c. in imitation of It. forte "strong." Meaning "strong point of a person" is from 1682.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

forte
adjective
1.	used chiefly as a direction or description in music; "the forte passages in the composition" [ant: piano]
adverb
1.	used as a direction in music; to be played relatively loudly [ant: piano]
noun
1.	an asset of special worth or utility; "cooking is his forte" [ant: weak point]
2.	(music) loud
3.	the stronger part of a sword blade between the hilt and the foible

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
forte [(fawr-tay)]

A musical direction meaning “to be performed loudly”; the opposite of piano.

Note: The common keyboard instrument the pianoforte (“piano” for short) got its name because it could play both soft and loud notes.

[Chapter:] Fine Arts

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Forte

Fort\, n. [F., from fort strong, L. fortis; perh. akin to Skr. darh to fix, make firm, and to E. firm Cf. Forte, Force, Fortalice, Comfort, Effort.] (Mil.) A strong or fortified place; usually, a small fortified place, occupied only by troops, surrounded with a ditch, rampart, and parapet, or with palisades, stockades, or other means of defense; a fortification.

Detached works, depending solely on their own strength, belong to the class of works termed forts. --Farrow.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Forte

Forte\ (f[=o]rt), n. [IT. forte: cf. F. fort. See Fort.]

1. The strong point; that in which one excels.

The construction of a fable seems by no means the forte of our modern poetical writers. --Jeffrey.

2. The stronger part of the blade of a sword; the part of half nearest the hilt; -- opposed to foible.

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