eau-forte

\o.fɔʁt\

/\o.fɔʁt\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“eau-forte” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Solution concentrée d’acide nitrique diluée à l’eau, mélange mordant, attaquant le métal, et en particulier le cuivre.

Key facts for eau-forte
PropertyValue
Headwordeau-forte
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\o.fɔʁt\
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “eau-forte” sits in French frequency

eau-forte falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

eau-forte is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \o.fɔʁt\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for eau-forte in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is eau-forte, spelled E-A-U---F-O-R-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Solution concentrée d’acide nitrique diluée à l’eau, mélange mordant, attaquant le métal, et en particulier le cuivre.
  2. 2
    Un des plus importants procédés de la gravure en creux sur plaque métallique, généralement en cuivre, utilisant comme substance acide, de l’acide nitrique.
  3. 3
    Estampe obtenue par ce type de gravure.

This word in other languages

etching(English)aguafuerte(Español)Scheidewasser(Deutsch)água-forte(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "eau-forte"?
"eau-forte" is spelled E-A-U---F-O-R-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is \o.fɔʁt\.
What does "eau-forte" mean?
As a noun, "eau-forte" means: Solution concentrée d’acide nitrique diluée à l’eau, mélange mordant, attaquant le métal, et en particulier le cuivre.
How do you pronounce "eau-forte"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "eau-forte" is \o.fɔʁt\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "eau-forte" come from?
"eau-forte" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “eau-forte”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is E-A-U---F-O-R-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \o.fɔʁt\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list