HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

for·te¹

(fôrtā′, fôrt)

1. Something in which a person excels: “His forte was in defusing negative rumors before they ever exploded into news accounts” (Jane Mayer).

2. The strong part of a sword blade, between the middle and the hilt.

[French fort, from Old French, strong, from Latin fortis; see FORT.]

Usage Note: Forte, meaning “something in which a person excels,” can be pronounced with one syllable, like the French word from which it is derived. It can also be pronounced with two syllables (fôrtā′), which is the more common pronunciation in American English and was the choice of 74 percent of the Usage Panel in both our 1996 and 2016 surveys. Some of those who dislike the two-syllable pronunciation argue it should only be used for the music term forte, which is derived from Italian.

for·te²

(fôrtā′) Music

adv. & adj. Abbr. f

In a loud, forceful manner. Used chiefly as a direction.

A note, passage, or chord played forte.

[Italian, strong, forte, from Latin fortis; see bhergh-² in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

This website is best viewed in Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Safari. Some characters in pronunciations and etymologies cannot be displayed properly in Internet Explorer.

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

THE USAGE PANEL

NEED HELP SOLVING A CROSSWORD PUZZLE?

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices