tour de force
Preserved but no longer current.
A feat of strength or skill. Tournament (O.Fr. tprneiement* from Lat. tornare, to turn). A tilt of knights; the chief art of the game being so to manoeuvre or turn your horse as to avoid the adversary's blow.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “tour de force” mean?
A feat of strength or skill. Tournament (O.Fr. tprneiement* from Lat. tornare, to turn). A tilt of knights; the chief art of the game being so to manoeuvre or turn your horse as to avoid the adversary's blow.
Is “tour de force” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.