fortis

See also: Fortis

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔː(ɹ)tɪs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

fortis (not comparable)

1. (phonetics, of a consonant) Relatively strongly articulated, hence voiceless and possibly aspirated; especially as compared to the others of a group of homorganic consonants.

   Synonym: tense

   Antonym: lenis

   Unaspirated [p] is fortis in French, the corresponding lenis consonant being [b]. The same sound is lenis in Danish, the corresponding fortis consonant being [pʰ].

   • 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).

Derived terms

• fortition

Noun

fortis (plural fortes)

1. (phonetics) A fortis consonant.

Derived terms

• pre-fortis

See also

• aqua fortis

Anagrams

• sit for, Fritos

Latin

Etymology 1

From Old Latin forctis, from Proto-Italic *forktis, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to rise, high, hill”) (> Proto-Indo-European *bʰérǵʰ-ti-s) or Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“to bind fast, to be firm, strong”); in the latter case, an earlier Proto-Italic form of the word *θorktis can be reconstructed.

Alternative forms

• forctis, forctus (Old Latin)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈfɔr.tɪs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈfɔr.tis]

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

   Adeō fortis erat ut arborēs pugnō excīderet.

   He was so strong that he could cut down trees with his fist.

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

   Synonyms: fīxus, tenāx, inexōrābilis, obstinātus

3. (figuratively) courageous, brave

   Antonym: imbēcillus

   • 8 CE, Ovidius, 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. (figuratively) manly, mannish (corresponding to the Greek ἀνδρεῖος)

Declension

Third-declension two-termination adjective.

	singular			plural
	masc./fem.	neuter		masc./fem.	neuter
nominative	fortis	forte		fortēs	fortia
genitive	fortis			fortium
dative	fortī			fortibus
accusative	fortem	forte		fortīs fortēs	fortia
ablative	fortī			fortibus
vocative	fortis	forte		fortēs	fortia

Derived terms

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

Descendants

• Aragonese: fuerte
• Asturian: fuerte
• Basque: bortizki
• Catalan: fort
• Dalmatian: fuart
• Franco-Provençal: fôrt
• 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, 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