G'day Genie,

You are right - etymologists do have some ways to trace derivation ... they look at the (published) uses ... that is far what the Oxford English Dictionary (all 28, or so, volumes of dead tree) is famous. A "dictionary on historical principles" looks at how a word was used and provides examples of the pivotal usages. If you want to argue with them, there is a hell of a lot of trolling through vintage paper ahead!

Anyway, current French does not have the use of forte as a 'noun' that we have in English ... but it is a continuation of the Latin practice of understanding the sense of (thing) as what is described by an adjective - so forte is really one's (chose) forte. On top of which - Who says the English has to be good French? (Even if that is the source ... the strength of English is its ability to borrow and adapt.

Regards,

Bob Bolton