fortis

See also: Fortis

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin fortis (“strong”). Doublet of fort and forte.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔː(ɹ)tɪs/

Adjective

fortis (not comparable)

1. (phonetics) Strongly articulated (of a consonant), hence voiceless.

   Synonym: tense

   Antonym: lenis

   • 2004, Stephan Gramley, Michael Pätzold, A Survey of Modern English, Routledge, →ISBN, page 80:

     All vowels, whether short or complex, are relatively shorter when followed by a fortis consonant and relatively longer when followed by a lenis one or, for those where this is possible, when no consonant follows (in free or unchecked syllables).

Noun

fortis (plural fortes)

1. (phonetics) A fortis consonant.

Derived terms

• pre-fortis

See also

• aqua fortis

Latin

Etymology 1

From Proto-Italic *forktis, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to rise, high, hill”) or Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“to bind fast, to be firm, strong”).

Alternative forms

• forctis, forctus (Early Latin)

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈfor.tis/, [ˈfɔrt̪ɪs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈfor.tis/, [ˈfɔrt̪is]

• Audio (Classical)

  (file)

Adjective

fortis (neuter forte, comparative fortior, superlative fortissimus, adverb fortiter); third-declension two-termination adjective

1. (physically) strong, powerful

   Synonyms: praevalēns, potis, potēns, validus, strēnuus, ingēns, firmus, compos

   Antonyms: dēbilis, languidus, aeger, fractus, īnfirmus, tenuis, obnoxius, inops

2. (figurative), firm, resolute, steadfast, stout

   Synonyms: fīxus, tenāx, inexōrābilis, obstinātus

3. (figurative), courageous, brave

   Antonym: imbēcillus

   • 43 BCE – c. 17 CE, Ovid, Fasti 1.493-494:

     omne solum fortī patria est, ut piscibus aequor,
     ut volucrī, vacuō quicquid in orbe patet.

     Every land is home to the brave, as to fishes the sea,
     as to birds for every void whatsoever in the open world.

4. (figurative), manly, mannish (answering to the Greek ἀνδρεῖος) (clarification of this definition is needed)

Declension

Third-declension two-termination adjective.

Number	Singular			Plural
Case / Gender	Masc./Fem.	Neuter		Masc./Fem.	Neuter
Nominative	fortis	forte		fortēs	fortia
Genitive	fortis			fortium
Dative	fortī			fortibus
Accusative	fortem	forte		fortēs fortīs	fortia
Ablative	fortī			fortibus
Vocative	fortis	forte		fortēs	fortia

Derived terms

• forticulus
• fortificātiō
• fortificō
• fortiter
• fortitūdō
• ā fortiōrī

 

Descendants

• Aragonese: fuerte
• Asturian: fuerte
• Basque: bortizki
• Catalan: fort
• Dalmatian: fuart
• French: fort
  • → English: fort
• Friulian: fuart
• Italian: forte
  • → English: forte
• Occitan: fòrt
• Old Galician-Portuguese: forte
  • Fala: forti
  • Galician: forte
  • Portuguese: forte
• Romanian: foarte
• Sardinian: folte, forte, forti
• Sicilian: forti
• Spanish: fuerte
• Borrowings:
  • → Albanian: fortë
  • → Basque: bortitz
  • → English: fortis
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: fortiori

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

fortis

1. genitive singular of fors

Further reading

• “fortis”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “fortis”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• fortis in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• fortis in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • be brave: fortem te praebe
    
  • (ambiguous) quite accidentally, fortuitously: temere et fortuito; forte (et) temere
    
  • (ambiguous) to be brave by nature: animo forti esse
    
  • (ambiguous) personally brave: manu fortis
    
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “fortis”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 236