Etymologically
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fort

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /fɔːt/, US /fɔːrt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English forte, borrowed from Middle French fort, a noun use of Old French fort “strong, fortified”,[2][3][4] from Latin fortis (“strong, brave”), from Old Latin forctus, of unknown etymology.[2][4] It is possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bhergh- (“high, elevated”), whose derivatives refer to hills and hill-forts.[2][3][5] Hoad adds Italian forte as a source.[6] It is related to fortify, fortress, force and forte.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A fortified place, a stronghold: the mid-15th century in Etymonline, 1435 in Barnhart, 1557–75 in the OED.[2][3][7] Barnhart has an earlier forte “courage” probably before 1375.[3]

Semantic evolution

A strong position in a figurative sense is from 1568,[7] and hold the fort from the 1590s.[2] The lair of a wild animal is from 1653.[7] In British North America and parts of the United States, a trading station, originally fortified, is from 1776.[7] The verb, to fortify, is from 1559.[7]

Timeline

  • 1435 – a stronghold.[3]
  • 1559 – verb, to fortify.[7]
  • 1568 – figurative.[7]
  • 1590s – hold the fort.[2]
  • 1776 – a trading post.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A strong building or place built to be defended against attack.
  2. A permanent army post.
  3. hold the fort: to take care of something while others are away.
  • fortress
  • fortification
  • fortify
  • force
  • forte
  • fortitude

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press