Quote:
Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
Beg to differ. As does the American Heritage (sorry, couldn't find the Oxford American online). The two different meanings of forte (quality of strength versus loudness in music notation) have different etymologies (French versus Italian).
Sadly for me, though, the total pussies on the AH usage panel now permit the for-tay pronunciation. Oh, the humanity!
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Like I said, this is America, the middle class wins.
But that's a really good dictionary site you've found. I like those etymologies, and I really like that little bit of pomposity in the note at the bottom indicating that users aware of the word's origins may prefer to continue to pronounce forte with one syl., but at the risk of confusing their (stupid) listeners. From now on, American Heritage has my heart. Oxford American, begone.
