[forte] n [F fort, fr. fort, adj., strong] (ca. 1648) 1: the part of a sword or foil blade that is between the middle and the hilt and that is the strongest part of the blade
2: one's strong point
[2]for.te adv or adj [It, fr. forte strong, fr. L fortis] (ca. 1724): loud--used as a direction in music [3]for.te n (1759): a tone or passage played forte