forte

Borrowed 1640–50; earlier fort < Middle French; disyllabic pronunciation by association with Italian forte, from Latin fortis (“strong”). Doublet of fort and fortis.

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready. Particularly: "/ˈfɔːteɪ/"

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔːteɪ/, /fɔːˈteɪ/, /ˈfɔːti/, /fɔːt/

  • Audio (Southern England); /fɔːˈteɪ/:

    (file)

  • Audio (Southern England); /ˈfɔːti/:

    (file)

  • Audio (Southern England); /fɔːt/:

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfoɹ.teɪ/, /ˈfoɹti/, /foɹt/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)teɪ, -eɪ, -ɔː(ɹ)ti, -ɔː(ɹ)t
• (non-hoarse-horse) IPA^(key): (rhotic) /ˈfoːɹt/, (non-rhotic) /ˈfoət/

forte (plural fortes)

1. A strength or talent; a strong point.

   He writes respectably, but poetry is not his forte.

   • 1837, L E L, chapter XV, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides.  In Three Volumes.">…], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, , →OCLC, page 115:

     Between ourselves, the country is rather triste, and you have given me positively a sensation; yet my forte is not the Arcadian: however, I will do my petit possible to console you for the loss of le beau Lindor, who was my predecessor.

2. The strong part of a sword blade, close to the hilt.

• See Thesaurus:forte

Borrowed from Italian forte (“strong”).

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready. Particularly: "/ˈfɔːteɪ/"

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔːteɪ/
• IPA^(key): (General American) /ˈfoɹteɪ/
• (non-hoarse-horse) IPA^(key): (rhotic) /ˈfoːɹteɪ/, (non-rhotic) /ˈfoəteɪ/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)teɪ

forte (comparative more forte, superlative most forte)

1. (music) Loudly, as a dynamic in a piece of music.

   (abbreviation) f

   The musicians played the passage forte.

• fortepiano
• fortissimo
• fortississimo
• mezzo forte
• pianoforte

forte (comparative more forte, superlative most forte)

1. (music) Loud.

   This passage is forte, then there's a diminuendo to mezzo piano.

forte (plural fortes)

1. A passage in music to be played loudly; a loud section of music.

   This forte marks the climax of the second movement.

• piano

• Foret, fetor, frote, ofter

• IPA^(key):

From Old Danish forta, fortæ (“space around a horse”), see fortov (“pavement”).

forte c (singular definite forten, plural indefinite forter)

1. (historical) open space in a village
2. (historical) enclosed cattle path

• “Forte,1” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

From Italian forte, from Latin fortis (“strong”).

forte

1. (music) forte, loudly

   Antonym: piano

• IPA^(key): /ˈforte/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -orte
• Hyphenation: for‧te

forte

1. strongly

• forta
• forto
• malforta
• perforto

• fortika

• IPA^(key): /fɔʁt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

forte f sg

1. feminine singular of fort

• foret, forêt

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔɾte/
• Rhymes: -ɔɾte
• Hyphenation: for‧te

From Old Galician-Portuguese forte, from Latin fortis, fortem (“strong”), from Old Latin forctis, fortis, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to rise, high, hill”).

forte m or f (plural fortes)

1. strong

From praza forte, "strong place".

forte m (plural fortes)

1. fortress

• fortín

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “forte”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “forte”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “forte”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “forte”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “forte”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025
• “forte” in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (2014).

From Latin fortem, from Old Latin forctis, fortis, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to rise, high, hill”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔr.te/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔrte
• Hyphenation: fòr‧te

forte m (plural forti)

1. fort, fortress

   Synonyms: fortezza, fortilizio, fortino, bicocca, piazzaforte, roccaforte, ridotta

2. a strength or talent

   La chimica non è il mio forte

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

forte m or f (plural forti, superlative fortissimo)

1. strong

   Sono alto e forte. ― I am tall and strong.

2. (linguistics) stressed

   vocali forti ― stressed vowel

• robusto

• debole

• fortemente
• fortezza
• fortificare
• forza

• forte in Dizionario di Italiano online - La Repubblica

From the ablative of fors (“chance, luck”).

forte

1. ablative singular of fors

forte (not comparable)

1. by chance, accidentally
   • 160 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Adelphoe 739–741:

     Ita vītāst hominum quasi quom lūdās tesserīs: / sī illud quod maxumē opus est iactū nōn cadit, / illud quod cecidit forte, id arte ut corrigās.

     In this way, human life is like when you play with dice: if most needed does not fall by a throw, instead you must artfully make the best of the one that fell by chance.

2. once, once upon a time
3. perhaps, perchance
4. as luck would have it
5. as it (just so) happens/happened

• (by chance, as luck would have it): Synonym: temere
• (by chance): fortuītō
• (perhaps): forsit, forsitan, fortasse, fortassis

From fortis.

forte

1. nominative/vocative/accusative singular neuter of fortis

• “forte”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “forte”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "forte", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• forte in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) quite accidentally, fortuitously: temere et fortuito; forte (et) temere
    

forte f

1. feminine singular of fort

forte

1. definite singular of fort
2. plural of fort

Inherited from Latin fortem (“strong”), from Old Latin forctis, fortis, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to rise, high, hill”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔɾ.te/

forte m or f by sense (plural fortes)

1. strong; powerful (capable of producing great physical force)
2. (of wind, water, etc.) strong; fast moving etc.
3. (of a disease or symptom) strong; severe
4. fortified (of a castle)

• Fala: forti
• Galician: forte
• Portuguese: forte

• Universo Cantigas - "forte"

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese forte, from Latin fortis (“strong”), from Old Latin forctis, fortis, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to rise, high, hill”).

• (Northeast Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔh.tɪ/, /fɔhtʲ/, /fɔʈʲ/
• Hyphenation: for‧te

forte m (plural fortes)

1. strength (pronounced quality), strong suit
2. fortress

   Synonym: fortaleza

forte m or f (plural fortes, comparable, comparative mais forte, superlative o mais forte or fortíssimo, diminutive fortinho, augmentative fortão)

1. capable of producing great force; strong; forceful

   O homem forte levantou o carro.

   The strong man lifted the car.

2. capable of withstanding great force; strong; durable
3. highly stimulating to the senses; intense; extreme; strong

   Senti um cheiro muito forte.

   I smelled a very strong odor.

4. (euphemistic) fat

   Synonym: gordo

Borrowed from Italian forte or Latin fortis.

forte m or f or n (indeclinable)

1. strong, powerful

forte

1. strongly

Borrowed from Italian forte. Doublet of fuerte.

• IPA^(key): /ˈfoɾte/
• Rhymes: -oɾte
• Syllabification: for‧te

forte m or f (masculine and feminine plural fortes)

1. (music) forte

forte

1. (music) forte

forte m (plural fortes)

1. (music) forte

• “forte”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy , 10 December 2024

Borrowed from Italian forte.

forte (not comparable)

1. (music) forte (loudly)

forte n

1. (music) forte (passage to be played loudly)

• forte in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• forte in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• forte in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)