cognoscenti
[kon-yuh-shen-tee, kog-nuh-]
- persons who have superior knowledge and understanding of a particular field, especially in the fine arts, literature, and world of fashion.
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Also conoscenti.
Origin of cognoscenti
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for cognoscenti
Contemporary Examples
The backlash from the dance music critics and cognoscenti has been neck-snapping.
Historical Examples
His works were passed over as beneath the notice of the cognoscenti.
Art in EnglandDutton Cook
It was but lately that I dined with a group of the Cognoscenti.
Chimney-Pot PapersCharles S. Brooks
Chopin writes: I have the cognoscenti and the poetic natures on my side.
Frederic Chopin, v. 1 (of 2)Moritz Karasowski
In front of it Lance met two cognoscenti of his acquaintance.
And so the selection of an eleven against the Cognoscenti went on in the usual old-fashioned style.
Acton's FeudFrederick Swainson
cognoscenti
conoscenti
- (sometimes singular) people with informed appreciation of a particular field, esp in the fine arts; connoisseurs
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Word Origin
C18: from obsolete Italian (modern conoscente), from Latin cognōscere to know, learn about
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for cognoscenti
n.
plural of cognoscente (q.v.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper