[fawrt, fohrt or, for 1, fawr-tey] 
| 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 ). |
[fawrt] or [fohrt]. The word is derived from the French word fort "strong." A two-syllable pronunciation [fawr-tey] is increasingly heard, especially from younger educated speakers, perhaps owing to confusion with the musical term forte, pronounced in English as [fawr-tey] and in Italian as [fawr-te]. Both the one- and two-syllable pronunciations of forte are now considered standard. [fawr-tey; It. fawr-te] Music.| 1. | (a direction) loud; with force (opposed to piano ). |
| 2. | (a direction) loudly. |
| 3. | a passage that is loud and forcible, or is intended to be so. |
| for·te 1 (fôr'tā', fôrt, fōrt) n.
[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. |
| for·te 2 (fôr'tā') 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.] |
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.