connoisseur

[ kon-uh-sur, -soor ]

/ ˌkɒn əˈsɜr, -ˈsʊər /

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.

Nearby words

conniption, connivance, connive, connivent, connivery, connoisseur, connolly, connor, connors, connotation, connotative

Origin of connoisseur

1705–15; < French; Old French conoiseor < Latin cognōscitōr- (stem of cognōscitor) knower. See cognoscible, -tor

SYNONYMS FOR connoisseur

critic, aesthete.

Related forms

con·nois·seur·ship, noun

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
He liked good food, and was proud of his connoisseurship in matters of cookery, and wines.
William Morris|Elizabeth Luther Cary

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
Mrs. Jameson's connoisseurship was not limited to pictorial and sculptural art.
Reminiscences, 1819-1899|Julia Ward Howe.
By the end of the fifteenth century art is becoming a question of rules; appreciation a matter of connoisseurship.
Art|Clive Bell
The supply is so large that connoisseurship has grown up; an extra-fecund slang-maker on the press has his following.
The American Language|Henry L. Mencken

British Dictionary definitions for connoisseurship

connoisseur

/ (ˌkɒnɪˈsɜː) /

noun

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

Derived Forms

connoisseurship, 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