| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| forte (adv., adj., nn.) |
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| One noun forte, spelled fort (masculine) and forte (feminine) in the original French, in English is always spelled forte. It has two Standard pronunciations, FORT and FOR-tai, although purists insist that only FORT will do. This forte means “strength, special ability,” as in The mayor’s forte is putting an audience in a good humor. | 1 |
| A second forte, an Italian cognate of the French word, is pronounced in English either FOR-tai or FOR-tee. As adjective it means “loud,” as in The forte passage is for the brass instruments. As adverb it means “loudly”: Play it not piano but forte. And as noun, this forte is simply the name of a loud passage so labeled: Bassoons, please play the forte as marked. See also FORTISSIMO. | 2 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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