forte1

[fawrt, fohrt or for 1, fawr-tey] /fɔrt, foʊrt or for 1, 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: talent, skill, excellence, strength, strong point, specialty, proficiency; knack, bent.
2.
the stronger part of a sword blade, between the middle and the hilt (opposed to foible).
Origin
1640-50; earlier fort < Middle French (see fort); disyllabic pronunciation by association with forte2
Can be confused
fort, forte (see pronunciation note at the current entry)
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] /fɔrt/ (Show IPA) 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.
Popular references
—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.
Related Quotations
“[George B.] McClellan is an intelligent engineer and officer, but not a commander to lead a great army in the field. To attack or advance with energy and power is not in him; to fight is not his forte.“
—Gideon Welles, from his diary entry for September 3, 1862, The Blue and the Gray: The Story of the Civil War as told by participants, Volumes 1-2 by Henry Steele Commager (1982)
“Who was he kidding? It wasn't his forte. He had no forte. That was his forte.“
—Stanley Elkin, “The Guest“ Criers and Kibitzers, Kibitzers and Criers (1965)
“Elegance, oratory, and women are his forte.“
—Luis Rafael Sánchez, Macho Camacho's Beat transl. by Gregory Rabassa (2001)
“[B]e sure to hold the sword comfortably in front of you with the forte (not the hilt) guarding your head.“
—Richard Lane, Swashbuckling: a step-by-step guide to the art of stage combat and theatrical swordplay (1999)

forte2

[fawr-tey; Italian fawr-te] /ˈfɔr teɪ; Italian ˈfɔr tɛ/
adjective
1.
(a direction in a musical score or part) loud; with force (opposed to piano).
adverb
2.
(a direction in a musical score or part) loudly.
noun
3.
a passage that is loud and played with force or is marked to be so. Abbr.: f.
Origin
1715-25; < Italian < Latin fortis strong
Examples from the web for forte
  • Determined to demonstrate his forte, he began making unglazed pots with even stranger contours.
  • Non-news stories about historians seems to be this reporter's forte.
  • Kept unchecked they increase al forte, but population growth is never unchecked.
  • Although he occasionally tried his hand at writing rhymed poetry, he soon recognized that this medium was not his forte.
  • If that's not your forte, consider hiring a professional-plenty of security firms offer kidnap-negotiation services.
  • Writer relates the opinion that her true forte is in presentation.
  • forte's value has been as a moving target, shifting left, cutting right and then spinning away.
  • My forte is making complex science topics accessible to a non-technical audience.
  • For the first time in the history of recorded sound, it was possible to hear the entire span from pianissimo to triple forte.
  • forte has emerged as the clear frontrunner without a viable handcuff.
British Dictionary definitions for forte

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

forte2

/ˈfɔːtɪ/
adjective, adverb
1.
loud or loudly f
noun
2.
a loud passage in music
Word Origin
C18: from Italian, from Latin fortis strong
Word Origin and History for forte
n.

1640s, from French fort "strong point (of a sword blade)," also "fort," from Middle French fort (see fort). Meaning "strong point of a person" is from 1680s. Final -e- added 18c. in imitation of Italian forte "strong."

adj.

music instruction, "loud, loudly," from Italian forte, literally "strong," from Latin fortis "strong" (see fort).

forte in Culture
forte [(fawr-tay)]

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.