fort

See also: Fort, fört, fòrt, fořt, for't, and fort-

English

Etymology

From Middle English fort, from Middle French fort (“strong”) (adjective use is from Old French). Doublet of fortis and forte.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /fɔɹt/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fɔːt/
• (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /fo(ː)ɹt/
• (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /foət/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)t
• Homophones: forte (one pronunciation); fought (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger)

Noun

fort (plural forts)

1. A fortified defensive structure stationed with troops.
2. Any permanent army post.
3. (historical) An outlying trading-station, as in British North America.
4. A structure improvised from furniture, bedding, etc., for playing games.

   Synonym: den

   The kids built a fort out of chairs and pillows.

Synonyms

• (fortified defensive structure): bastion, bulwark, bunker, castle, citadel, donjon, fortification, fortress, foxhole, keep, motte and bailey, rampart, stronghold
• (permanent army post): air base, armory, arsenal, base, camp, headquarters, supply depot, watchtower

Derived terms

• climbing fort
• fairy fort
• Fort Augustus
• Fort Bend County
• Fort Benton
• Fort Collins
• Fort Davis
• Fort Dodge
• Fort Edward
• Fort Erie
• Fort Gaines
• Fort Gay
• Fort George
• Fort Gratiot
• Fort Lauderdale
• Fort Lee
• Fort Madison
• Fort Matilda
• Fort Morgan
• Fort Payne
• Fort Pierce
• Fort Pierre
• Fort Scott
• Fort Smith
• Fort Stockton
• Fort Sumner
• Fort Valley
• Fort Victoria
• Fort Wayne
• Fort William
• Fort Worth
• forty
• Fort Yates
• hill-fort
• hold down the fort
• man the fort
• Navan Fort
• pillow fort
• polygonal fort
• snow fort
• star fort

 

Related terms

• fortress
• fortification
• hold the fort

Descendants

• Sranan Tongo: foto
  • Aukan: foto
  • Saramaccan: fóto

Translations

fortified defensive structure stationed with troops

• Arabic: قَلْعَة f (qalʕa), حِصْن (ar) m (ḥiṣn)
• Avar: хъала (qxala)
• Belarusian: форт m (fort)
• Bengali: কেল্লা (bn) (kella)
• Bulgarian: форт (bg) m (fort)
• Catalan: fort (ca) m
• Chechen: гӏала (ğala)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 要塞 (zh) (yàosài), 碉堡 (zh) (diāobǎo), 城堡 (zh) (chéngbǎo), 堡壘／堡垒 (zh) (bǎolěi), 炮臺／炮台 (zh) (pàotái)

• Cimbrian: forte
• Czech: pevnost (cs) f
• Danish: fort (da) n
• Dutch: fort (nl) n, vesting (nl) f
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: linnake (fi), linnoitus (fi)
• French: fort (fr) m
• Galician: forte (gl) m
• Georgian: ციხესიმაგრე (cixesimagre)
• German: Festung (de) f, Fort (de) n
• Gorontalo: biintengi (gor)
• Gothic: 𐌱𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌲𐍃 f (baurgs)
• Greek:

  Ancient: φρούριον n (phroúrion), ὀχύρωμα n (okhúrōma)

• Hindi: क़िला m (qilā), कोट (hi) m (koṭ)
• Hungarian: erőd (hu)
• Icelandic: virki n, vígi n
• Indonesian: benteng (id)
• Irish: dún m, daingean m
• Italian: forte (it) m, fortezza (it) f, fortilizio (it) m, fortino (it) m, bicocca (it) f, piazzaforte (it) f, ridotta (it) f
• Japanese: 要塞 (ja) (ようさい, yōsai)
• Javanese: bètèng (jv)
• Khmer: បន្ទាយ (km) (bɑntiəy)
• Korean: 요새 (ko) (yosae)
• Latin: castrum (la) n
• Latvian: forts m
• Lezgi: къеле (q̄ele)
• Lithuanian: fortas m
• Maori: apaapatū
• Norman: fort m (Jersey, Guernsey)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: festning m or f, fort (no) n

  Nynorsk: festning f or m, fort n

• Old English: fæsten
• Ottoman Turkish: حصار (hisar), حصن (hısn), قلعه (kalʼe), كرمان (kerman, kirman), قسطل (kastel)
• Persian: دژ (fa) (dež)
• Polish: fort (pl) m
• Portuguese: forte (pt)
• Russian: форт (ru) m (fort)
• Scottish Gaelic: daingneach f
• Slovak: pevnosť f
• Spanish: fuerte (es) m, fortaleza (es) f
• Swedish: fäste (sv) n, fort (sv) n
• Telugu: కోట (te) (kōṭa)
• Turkish: kale (tr), korugan (tr)
• Ukrainian: форт m (fort)
• Urdu: قلعہ (qila)
• Vietnamese: pháo đài (vi)
• Welsh: amddiffynfa f, caer (cy) f

any permanent army post

• Finnish: tukikohta (fi)
• German: Stützpunkt (de) m
• Hungarian: erőd (hu)
• Polish: fort (pl) m
• Welsh: caer (cy) f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} utvrđenje (sh) n, ^{(please verify)} tvrđava (sh) f
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} fuerte (es) m

Verb

fort (third-person singular simple present forts, present participle forting, simple past and past participle forted)

1. To create a fort, fortifications, a strong point, or a redoubt.

Anagrams

• TofR, frot

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin fortem (“strong”), from Old Latin forctis, fortis, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to rise, high, hill”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈfɔrt]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈfɔɾt]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔɾt

Adjective

fort (feminine forta, masculine plural forts, feminine plural fortes)

1. strong (forceful, powerful)

   Antonyms: feble, dèbil

2. strong (durable, resistant)
3. strong (potent, having a high degree of intensity)

Derived terms

• caixa forta
• enfortir
• fortament
• fortesa
• interacció forta

Related terms

• força
• forçar
• fortalesa

Adverb

fort

1. strongly

Noun

fort m (plural forts, feminine forta)

1. a strong person
2. strength (the strongest part of something)
3. a fort or other defensive construction

Interjection

fort

1. expresses approval of a punishment or misfortune suffered by another

Further reading

• “fort” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “fort”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “fort” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “fort” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Danish

Noun

fort n (singular definite fortet, plural indefinite forter)

1. fort

References

• “fort” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔrt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: fort
• Rhymes: -ɔrt
• Homophone: Fort

Noun

fort n (plural forten, diminutive fortje n)

1. castle
2. fort

Descendants

• Negerhollands: fort
• Skepi Creole Dutch: fort
• → Kwinti: foto
• → Papiamentu: fòrti, forti
• → Sranan Tongo: foto
  • → Kari'na: fo`to
  • → Lokono: forto
  • → Trió: poto

Anagrams

• trof

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French fort, from Latin fortem (“strong”), from Old Latin forctis, fortis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔːʁ/

• Audio (France):

  (file)

• Audio (Quebec):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔʁ

Adjective

fort (feminine forte, masculine plural forts, feminine plural fortes)

1. strong; powerful

   Arnie est fort. ― Arnie is strong.

   hommes forts ― strong men

2. (intransitive) (informal) skilled, proficient, successful, sometimes translated "good" (often used in reference to academic subjects) [with en]

   Je suis fort en anglais ― I am good at English

3. who can count on [with de]

   fort d’une solide expérience ― based on solid experience

Synonyms

• ferme
• grand
• gros
• robuste

Antonyms

• faible

Derived terms

• à plus forte raison
• au prix fort
• c’est plus fort que moi
• employer la manière forte
• esprit fort
• faire fort
• fort comme un bœuf
• fort comme un Turc
• fort de café
• haut et fort
• interaction forte
• interaction nucléaire forte
• la plume est plus forte que l’épée
• la raison du plus fort est toujours la meilleure
• loi du plus fort
• main-forte
• payer le prix fort
• place forte
• point fort
• sensation forte

 

Adverb

fort

1. strongly
2. much, a lot
   • 2001, Le Funambule, →ISBN, page 141:

     Alors on ferme les yeux, on a fort envie de quelque chose et on se l’offre.

     So we close our eyes, we really fancy something and we're going to take it.

3. (when preceding certain adjectives and adverbs) very (intensifier)

   Je lui parle fort souvent. ― I speak with her very often.

Usage notes

• As an intensifying adverb in the sense of very, fort is synonymous but not always interchangeable with très and the similarly limited bien.

Derived terms

• avoir fort à faire

Related terms

• force
• fortement
• fortifier
• renforcer

Noun

fort m (plural forts)

1. a fort

Related terms

• forteresse
• fortification

Further reading

• “fort”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German

Etymology

From Middle High German vort, Old High German forth, Proto-Germanic *furþą, compare English forth, Dutch voort.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [fɔɐ̯t]

• Audio:

  (file)

Adverb

fort

1. away
2. gone
3. going on, continuing

Derived terms

• fortkommen
• in einem fort
• usf.

Related terms

• Fortbildung, Fortgang, Fortlaufen, Fortschritt, Fortzug

Further reading

• “fort” in Duden online
• “fort” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Lombard

Etymology

Akin to Italian forte and French fort, from Latin fortis.

Adjective

fort

1. strong

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French fort.

Adjective

fort m (feminine singular forte, masculine plural fors, feminine plural fortes)

1. strong

Descendants

• → English: fort
• French: fort

Norman

Etymology

From Old French fort, from Latin fortis, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ-.

Adjective

fort m

1. strong

Derived terms

• fortement (“strongly”)

Noun

fort m (plural forts)

1. (Jersey, Guernsey, military, etc.) fort

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fuʈ/

Etymology 1

From Middle Low German vort.

Adverb

fort (comparative fortere, superlative fortest)

1. fast, quick (adverb), quickly

Etymology 2

From French fort.

Noun

fort n (definite singular fortet, indefinite plural fort or forter, definite plural forta or fortene)

1. (military) a fort

References

• “fort” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Middle Low German vort.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /furt/

Adjective

fort (indefinite singular fort, definite singular and plural forte, comparative fortare, indefinite superlative fortast, definite superlative fortaste)

1. quick

Synonyms

• snøgg

Antonyms

• treg
• sakte

Adverb

fort

1. quickly

Synonyms

• snøgt

Antonyms

• tregt
• sakte

Etymology 2

From French fort.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔrt/

Noun

fort n (definite singular fortet, indefinite plural fort, definite plural forta)

1. fortress

Derived terms

• kystfort

References

• “fort” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Dutch

Adverb

fort

1. away

References

• Altniederfränkischer Psalm 18

Old French

Etymology

From Latin fortis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔɾt/
• Rhymes: -ɔrt

Adjective

fort m (oblique and nominative feminine singular fort or forte)

1. strong
   • late 12th century, anonymous author, “La Folie de Tristan d'Oxford”, in Le Roman de Tristan, Champion Classiques edition, →ISBN, page 354, lines 67–70:

     La nef ert fort e belle e grande,
     bone cum cele k'ert markande.
     De plusurs mers chargee esteit,
     en Engleterre curre devait.

     The ship was strong and beautiful and big,
     good like a merchant's ship
     loaded with lots of different type of merchandise
     ready to set sail to England.

Declension

Declension of fort

Number	Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Singular	Subject	forz	fort (later forte)	fort
	Oblique	fort			fort (later forte)	fort
Plural	Subject	fort	forz (later fortes)		fort
	Oblique	forz			forz (later fortes)	fort

Adverb

fort

1. strongly

Related terms

• force
• forment
• forteresce

Descendants

• → English: fort
• Middle French: fort
  • French: fort

Old Irish

Pronoun

fort

1. second-person singular of for

   on you

Descendants

• Irish: ort
• Manx: ort
• Scottish Gaelic: ort

Polish

fort

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔrt/

• (Greater Poland):
  • (Chełmno-Dobrzyń) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔrt/
  • (Northern Greater Poland) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔrt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔrt
• Syllabification: fort

Etymology 1

Perhaps borrowed from German Fort or French fort.

Noun

fort m inan

1. (military) fort, fortress (fortified defensive structure stationed with troops)

   Synonyms: barbakan, koszary, twierdza

Declension

Declension of fort

	singular	plural
nominative	fort	forty
genitive	fortu	fortów
dative	fortowi	fortom
accusative	fort	forty
instrumental	fortem	fortami
locative	forcie	fortach
vocative	forcie	forty

Related terms

nouns

• fortyfikacja

 

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German fort.

Interjection

fort

1. (Chełmno-Dobrzyń) away! (leave from here!)

   Synonym: precz

Adverb

fort (not comparable)

1. (Wieleń, Chełmno-Dobrzyń) still

   Synonym: ciągle

Further reading

• fort in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• fort in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Antoni Krasnowolski (1879) “fort”, in Album uczącéj się młodzieży polskiéj poświęcone Józefowi Ignacemu Kraszewskiemu z powodu jubileuszu jego pięćdziesięcioletniéj działalności literackiéj (in Polish), Lviv: Czytelni Akademickiéj Lwowskiéj; "Gaz. Narod." J. Dobrzańskiego i K. Gromana, Słowniczek prowincjalizmów zebranych w ziemi chełmińskiej i świeckiej, page 302
• Oskar Kolberg (1877) “fort”, in “Rzecz o mowie ludu wielkopolskiego”, in Zbiór wiadomości do antropologii krajowéj (in Polish), volume 1, III (Materyjały etnologiczne), page 33

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French fort.

Noun

fort n (plural forturi)

1. fort, fortification

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	fort	fortul		forturi	forturile
genitive-dative	fort	fortului		forturi	forturilor
vocative	fortule			forturilor

Swedish

Etymology 1

Attested since 1609 according to Nationalencyklopedins Ordbok, from Middle Low German fôrt (“away, further, forward”), which is used adverbially (forts) with the same meaning in Low German. Related to för (“fore”), före (“before”) and forsla (“transport, carry, haul”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfʊʈ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adverb

fort (comparative fortare, superlative fortast)

1. quickly/quick, fast

   Synonym: snabbt

Related terms

• fart
• fort-
• forta
• fortkörning

Etymology 2

Attested since 1651 according to Nationalencyklopedins Ordbok. From French fort.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔʈ/

Noun

fort n

1. a fort

Usage notes

• Permanent (stone) fortifications in Europe are called fästning, while fort (and skans) is used for less permanent (earth and wood) structures and for forts in America.

Declension

Declension of fort

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	fort	forts
	definite	fortet	fortets
plural	indefinite	fort	forts
	definite	forten	fortens

Related terms

• fortifiera
• fortifikation

References

• fort in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• fort in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• fort in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)