connoisseur

[kon-uh-sur, -soor]

noun

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.

a discerning judge of the best in any field: a connoisseur of horses.

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 for connoisseur

critic, aesthete.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for connoisseurship

Contemporary Examples of connoisseurship

That kind of slightly over-anxious, wrapping up of objects in connoisseurship brings me out in hives.
The Writer and the Potter: Edmund De Waal on his New York Debut
Iain Millar
September 12, 2013
Connoisseurship has spread from wine and olive oil to chocolate, cheeses, pickles, hams, cupcakes.
One Percent Shots! Testing Leona, DeLeon’s $825 Bottle of Tequila
Daniel Gross
November 29, 2012
In the book you suggest that connoisseurship has become more egalitarian, how come?
Eric Asimov Talks About New Book “How to Love Wine”
Sophie Menin
October 20, 2012

Historical Examples of connoisseurship

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

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

Derived Formsconnoisseurship, noun

Word Origin for connoisseur

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

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.)).