forte

¹ American  

[fawrt, fohrt, fawr-tey] / fɔrt, foʊrt, ˈfɔr teɪ /

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.

   Synonyms:

   bent, knack, proficiency, specialty, strong suit, strength, excellence, skill, talent

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

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forte ² American  

[fawr-tey, fawr-te] / ˈfɔr teɪ, ˈfɔr tɛ /

adjective

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

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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. f

forte ¹ British  

/ ˈfɔːteɪ, fɔːt /

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

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forte ² British  

/ ˈfɔːtɪ /

adjective

1.  f.  loud or loudly

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noun

1. a loud passage in music

forte Cultural  

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

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Pronunciation

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 or , pronounced as the English word fort. The word is derived from the French word fort, meaning “strong.” A two-syllable pronunciation is increasingly heard, especially from younger educated speakers, perhaps owing to confusion with the musical term forte, pronounced in English as and in Italian as . Both the one- and two-syllable pronunciations of forte are now considered standard.

Pop Culture

—FORTE: An acronym for Fast On-orbit Rapid Recording of Transient Events, FORTE is a lightweight satellite orbiting earth since August 1997. It is the first satellite made of an all-composite structure, and was designed to test new technologies for monitoring compliance with arms control treaties. —Forte: A character in the 1997 animated film Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas. The actor Tim Curry provided the voice for Forte, who is a pipe organ. —Kia Forte: A compact car manufactured by Kia Motors since 2008 and marketed worldwide.

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

Etymology

Origin of forte¹

First recorded in 1640–50; earlier fort, from Middle French noun use of adjective fort “strong, powerful”; fort; disyllabic pronunciation by association with forte ²

Origin of forte¹

1715–25; < Italian < Latin fortis strong

Example Sentences

Mehta said that the case required him to “gaze into a crystal ball and look to the future,” something he felt was “no judge’s forte.”

From Salon

Though Hanawalt says backgrounds are not her forte, she had a vision of what she saw for the world and started drawing houses and buildings that resembled those they grew up in.

From Los Angeles Times

Speed and convenience are the coffeehouse’s forte, which is underscored by its “grab-and-go” model and lack of indoor seating.

From Salon

“And we do expect to get updates, but that’s not our forte.”

From Los Angeles Times

The vice president’s forte is the big set piece — a major speech, a congressional hearing — where the climate is controlled.

From Los Angeles Times