connoisseurship

American  

[kon-uh-sur-ship, -soor-] / ˌkɒn əˈsɜr ʃɪp, -ˈsʊər- /

noun

1. the fact or state of being a connoisseur, a person who is especially competent to make discerning judgments in the fine arts or, often, in some other field; critical expertise, or the qualities of a connoisseur generally.

   Private galleries were a way for collectors to show off their education, taste, and connoisseurship.

   Fine tea defines a sense of culture, marks a ritual, and offers a sense of connoisseurship.

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Etymology

Origin of connoisseurship

connoisseur ( def. ) + -ship ( def. )

Explanation

Connoisseurship is a kind of expertise in a particular subject, especially an area of art. After years of listening to rockabilly music, your dad's connoisseurship of early rock-and-roll is unmatched. When someone is a connoisseur, they have a deep love and extensive knowledge of a subject that's considered to be a matter of taste. Connoisseurship is what a connoisseur possesses. Your sister, for example, has devoted years to her connoisseurship of French New Wave film, while you've turned your attention to the connoisseurship of fine cheeses. This word comes from the Old French conoisseor, "an expert or judge," and its Latin source cognoscere, "to get to know."

Example Sentences

Connoisseurship needs to form an alliance with the very academic approach.

From New York Times • Aug. 4, 2010

But comedy is mutable, and very soon the laughter wears off�especially when one considers the only real toad in this imaginary garden of Instant Connoisseurship, the artist.

From Time Magazine Archive

Virtue has had her day; and henceforward, Vertu and Connoisseurship have leave to provide for themselves.

From Miscellaneous Essays by De Quincey, Thomas

Connoisseurship is a science and may hold within itself no element of aesthetic enjoyment.

From The Gate of Appreciation Studies in the Relation of Art to Life by Noyes, Carleton Eldredge