forte

¹

[ fawrt, fohrt fawr-tey ]

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, excellence, skill, talent, strength

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

forte

²

[ fawr-tey; Italian fawr-te ]

adjective

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

forte

¹

/ 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

forte

²

/ ˈfɔːtɪ /

adjective

1. loud or loudly f

noun

1. a loud passage in music

forte

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

Pronunciation Note

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] or [fohrt], pronounced as the English word fort. The word is derived from the French word fort, meaning “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.

Notes

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

Word History and Origins

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 forte²

1715–25; < Italian < Latin fortis strong

Word History and Origins

Origin of forte¹

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

Origin of forte²

C18: from Italian, from Latin fortis strong

Example Sentences

Freed of responsibilities as speaker, the Bakersfield Republican can devote himself to what’s long been his forte: campaigns and elections.

From Los Angeles Times

His defence Tim Forte told Judge Forster that Budasz has a severe developmental disorder making him less mature than other men of his age.

From BBC

“I am waiting to hear when I am going to meet with Will Forte about my New Zealand show. And I am actually waiting on several other things I don’t feel like typing about.”

From Los Angeles Times

“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