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connoisseur

Etymology and origin of the English word connoisseur

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1714
Borrowed from
French connoisseur

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌkɒnəˈsɜː/, /ˌkɒnəˈsʊə/ (UK); /ˌkɑnəˈsɝ/, /ˌkɑnəˈsʊɹ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French connoisseur, an obsolete spelling of modern connaisseur,[2][3][4][5] from Old French conoisseor (“an expert, a judge”),[2][4][5][6] from conoistre (“to know”),[2][3][4][5] from Latin cognōscere (“to get to know, recognize”) (see cognition),[2][3][4][5] from com- and gnōscere (“to recognize”),[3][4] from Proto-Indo-European *gno- (“to know”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person well acquainted with one of the fine arts and competent to judge its works (1714 in the OED, Barnhart, Etymonline and Merriam-Webster).[7][3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

From 1732 the word was also used more generally of one who knows or is versed in a subject, a sense now obsolete.[7] By 1796 it was transferred to a critic or judge of other matters of taste, such as wines or delicacies,[7][4] so that today a connoisseur may be one who enjoys anything with discrimination and an appreciation of subtleties.[5][8]

Timeline

  • 1714 – a critical judge of the fine arts.[7][3][5]
  • 1732 – one versed in a subject (obsolete).[7]
  • 1796 – a judge in other matters of taste.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person with expert knowledge or training, especially in the fine arts, competent to act as a critical judge.
  2. A person of informed and discriminating taste, as in a connoisseur of fine wines.

Word family

  • connoisseurship
  • cognition
  • cognoscente
  • know
  • reconnaissance
  • aficionado

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Connoisseur.” Etymologically, 12 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/connoisseur. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·