The word for today is…
forte (noun) – 1. Something in which a person excels.
- 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?t??), 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.
Source : The Free Dictionary
Etymology : Forte derives from the sport of fencing. When English speakers borrowed the word from French in the 17th century, it referred to the strongest part of a sword blade, between the middle and the hilt. It is therefore unsurprising that forte eventually developed an extended metaphorical sense for a person’s strong point. (Incidentally, forte has its counterpoint in the word foible , meaning both the weakest part of a sword blade and a person’s weak point.) There is some controversy over how to correctly pronounce forte. Common choices in American English are “FOR-tay” and “for-TAY,” but many usage commentators recommend rhyming it with fort. In French, it would be written le fort and pronounced more similar to English for. You can take your choice, knowing that someone somewhere will dislike whichever variant you choose. All, however, are standard.
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