Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
FORTE
I. noun
Etymology: French fort, from fort, adjective , strong
Date: circa 1648
the part of a sword or foil blade that is between the middle and the hilt and that is the strongest part of the blade, one's strong point,
Usage: In forte we have a word derived from French that in its “strong point” sense has no entirely satisfactory pronunciation. Usage writers have denigrated \\ˈfȯr-ˌtā\\ and \\ˈfȯr-tē\\ because they reflect the influence of the Italian-derived 2forte. Their recommended pronunciation \\ˈfȯrt\\, however, does not exactly reflect French either: the French would write the word le fort and would rhyme it with English for. So you can take your choice, knowing that someone somewhere will dislike whichever variant you choose. All are standard, however. In British English \\ˈfȯ-ˌtā\\ and \\ˈfȯt\\ predominate; \\ˈfȯr-ˌtā\\ and \\fȯr-ˈtā\\ are probably the most frequent pronunciations in American English.
II. adverb or adjective
Etymology: Italian, from forte strong, from Latin fortis
Date: circa 1724
loud ,
III. noun
Date: 1759
a tone or passage played forte