connoisseurship

[ kon-uh-sur-ship, -soor- ]

noun

1. the fact or state of being a connoisseur, a person who is especially competent to make discerning judgments in the fine arts or, often, in some other field; critical expertise, or the qualities of a connoisseur generally:

   Private galleries were a way for collectors to show off their education, taste, and connoisseurship.

   Fine tea defines a sense of culture, marks a ritual, and offers a sense of connoisseurship.

Word History and Origins

Origin of connoisseurship¹

connoisseur ( def ) + -ship ( def )

Example Sentences

He was known in his family and to friends as a connoisseur of modern art and haute cuisine.

From Washington Post

If familiarity breeds contempt, then overindulgence breeds snobbish connoisseurship.

From The Daily Beast

That kind of slightly over-anxious, wrapping up of objects in connoisseurship brings me out in hives.

From The Daily Beast

Connoisseurship has spread from wine and olive oil to chocolate, cheeses, pickles, hams, cupcakes.

From The Daily Beast

In the book you suggest that connoisseurship has become more egalitarian, how come?

From The Daily Beast

Winckelmann gloated over their beauty, for he united the artist's appreciation to the connoisseurship of the archologist.

From Project Gutenberg

Connoisseurship is a science and may hold within itself no element of aesthetic enjoyment.

From Project Gutenberg

By the end of the fifteenth century art is becoming a question of rules; appreciation a matter of connoisseurship.

From Project Gutenberg

He liked good food, and was proud of his connoisseurship in matters of cookery, and wines.

From Project Gutenberg

Every detail spoke of the connoisseurship, the refined and personal taste characteristic of Oxford in the eighties.

From Project Gutenberg