||For*tis"si*mo (? or ?), adv. [It., superl. of forte, adv. See Forte,
||adv.] (Mus.) Very loud; with the utmost strength or loudness.
For*ti"tion (?), n. [See Fortuitous.] Casual choice; fortuitous
selection; hazard. [R.]
No mode of election operating in the spirit of fortition or
rotation can be generally good.
Burke.
For"ti*tude (?), n. [L. fortitudo, fr. fortis strong. See Fort.] 1.
Power to resist attack; strength; firmness. [Obs.]
The fortitude of the place is best known to you.
Shak.
2. That strength or firmness of mind which enables a person to
encounter danger with coolness and courage, or to bear pain or
adversity without murmuring, depression, or despondency; passive
courage; resolute endurance; firmness in confronting or bearing up
against danger or enduring trouble.
Extolling patience as the truest fortitude.
Milton.
Fortitude is the guard and support of the other virtues.
Locke.
Syn. -- Courage; resolution; resoluteness; endurance; bravery. See
Courage, and Heroism.
For`ti*tu"di*nous (?), a. Having fortitude; courageous. [R.] Gibbon.
Fort"let (?), n. A little fort. [R.] Bailey.
Fort"night` (?; in U.S. often ?; 277), n. [Contr. fr. fourteen nights,
our ancestors reckoning time by nights and winters; so, also, seven
nights, sennight, a week.] The space of fourteen days; two weeks.
Fort"night`ly (?), a. Occurring or appearing once in a fortnight; as, a
fortnightly meeting of a club; a fortnightly magazine, or other
publication. -- adv. Once in a fortnight; at intervals of a fortnight.