connoisseur

[kon-uh-sur, -soor]

noun

1. a person who is especially competent to pass critical judgments in an art, particularly one of the fine arts, or in matters of taste.

   a connoisseur of modern art.

2. a discerning judge of the best in any field.

   a connoisseur of horses.

connoisseur

/ ˌkɒnɪˈsɜː /

noun

1. a person with special knowledge or appreciation of a field, esp in the arts

Other Word Forms

• connoisseurship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of connoisseur¹

First recorded in 1705–15; from French; Old French conoiseor, from Latin cognōscitōr- (stem of cognōscitor ) “knower”; cognoscible, -tor

Word History and Origins

Origin of connoisseur¹

C18: from French, from Old French conoiseor, from connoistre to know, from Latin cognōscere

Example Sentences

But for connoisseurs of Japanese cinema, wherever they may live, his work will always be both unforgettable and essential.

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Phillips said a 1518 was the sort of watch that once acquired, "a connoisseur can feel to have reached the utmost peak of collecting".

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Roth, the real-estate investor, wouldn’t describe herself as a wine connoisseur, though she did buy bottles at many of the stops the campers made.

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I am a connoisseur; you are a collector; he is a hoarder; she doesn’t collect so much.

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His screen persona has often been the sleaziest of weasels, the connoisseur’s moral degenerate.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• aficionado 
• buff 
• devotee 
• dilettante