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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.
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Origin of connoisseur

1705–15; < French; Old French conoiseor < Latin cognōscitōr- (stem of cognōscitor) knower. See cognoscible, -tor
Related formscon·nois·seur·ship, noun

Synonyms

critic, aesthete.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for connoisseurship

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • There were the cobwebs about connoisseurship, etc., but what do they matter?

    Instigations

    Ezra Pound

  • No field in collecting and connoisseurship has claimed more devotees.

    Chats on Old Clocks

    Arthur Hayden

  • French painting really began in connoisseurship, one may say.

    French Art

    W. C. Brownell

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

    Romance of Roman Villas

    Elizabeth W. (Elizbeth Williams) Champney

  • The drawing-room, with its moulded ceiling and huge recessed window, had presented an admirable field for connoisseurship.

    The Pretty Lady

    Arnold E. Bennett

British Dictionary definitions for connoisseurship

connoisseur

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

Word Origin

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

connoisseur

n.

1714, from French connoisseur (Modern French connaiseur), from Old French conoisseor "an expert, a judge, one well-versed," from conoistre "to know," from Latin cognoscere "to know, to become well-acquainted with," from com- "with" (see com-) + gnoscere "recognize" (see notice (v.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper