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View synonyms for forte
forte
1[ fawrt, fohrt fawr-tey ]
noun
- 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
- the stronger part of a sword blade, between the middle and the hilt ( foible ).
forte
2[ fawr-tey; Italian fawr-te ]
adjective
- (a direction in a musical score or part) loud; with force ( piano ).
adverb
- (a direction in a musical score or part) loudly.
noun
- a passage that is loud and played with force or is marked to be so. : f
forte
1/ ˈfɔːteɪ; fɔːt /
noun
- something at which a person excels; strong point
cooking is my forte
- fencing the stronger section of a sword blade, between the hilt and the middle Compare foible
forte
2/ ˈfɔːtɪ /
adjective
- loud or loudly f
noun
- a loud passage in music
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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.
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Notes
The common keyboard instrument the pianoforte (“ piano ” for short) got its name because it could play both soft and loud notes.
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Word History and Origins
Origin of forte1
Origin of forte2
1715–25; < Italian < Latin fortis strong
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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
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