A person's strong point or specialty; something at which someone excels. In music, indicates a loud dynamic level.
From French 'fort' meaning strong, ultimately from Latin 'fortis.' The musical term comes directly from Italian, while the 'specialty' meaning developed through French. The pronunciation varies: /fort/ for the specialty meaning, /ˈfɔrteɪ/ for the musical term.
The dual pronunciation of 'forte' creates one of English's most disputed usage questions - language purists prefer /fort/ for 'strength,' while many speakers use /ˈfɔrteɪ/, possibly influenced by the musical term or simply because it sounds more sophisticated. Both pronunciations are now considered acceptable, showing how language evolves through actual usage rather than rules.
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