forte

1
[ fawrt, fohrt or, for 1, fawr-tey ]
See synonyms for: forteforterfortest on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a person's strong suit, or most highly developed characteristic, talent, or skill; something that one excels in: 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 of forte

1
First recorded in 1640–50; earlier fort, from Middle French noun use of adjective fort “strong, powerful”; see origin at fort; disyllabic pronunciation by association with forte2

pronunciation note For forte

In the sense of a person's strong suit ( He draws well, but sculpture is his real forte ), the older and historical pronunciation of forte is the one-syllable [fawrt] /fɔrt/ or [fohrt], /foʊrt/, pronounced as the English word fort. The word is derived from the French word fort, meaning “strong.” A two-syllable pronunciation [fawr-tey] /ˈfɔr teɪ/ is increasingly heard, especially from younger educated speakers, perhaps owing to confusion with the musical term forte, pronounced in English as [fawr-tey] /ˈfɔr teɪ/ and in Italian as [fawr-te]. /ˈfɔr tɛ/. Both the one- and two-syllable pronunciations of forte are now considered standard.

Other words for forte

Words that may be confused with forte

  • fort, forte (see pronunciation note at the current entry)

Words Nearby forte

Other definitions for forte (2 of 2)

forte2
[ fawr-tey; Italian fawr-te ]

adjective
  1. (a direction in a musical score or part) loud; with force (opposed to piano).

adverb
  1. (a direction in a musical score or part) loudly.

noun
  1. a passage that is loud and played with force or is marked to be so. Abbreviation: f

Origin of forte

2
1715–25; <Italian <Latin fortis strong

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use forte in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for forte (1 of 2)

forte1

/ (fɔːt, ˈfɔːteɪ) /


noun
  1. something at which a person excels; strong point: cooking is my forte

  2. fencing the stronger section of a sword blade, between the hilt and the middle: Compare foible

Origin of forte

1
C17: from French fort, from fort (adj) strong, from Latin fortis

British Dictionary definitions for forte (2 of 2)

forte2

/ (ˈfɔːtɪ) music /


adjective, adverb
  1. loud or loudly: Symbol: f

noun
  1. a loud passage in music

Origin of forte

2
C18: from Italian, from Latin fortis strong

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for forte

forte

[ (fawr-tay) ]


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

Notes for forte

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

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.