connoisseur English · revision 1519

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1714}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌkɒnəˈsɜː/, /ˌkɒnəˈsʊə/ ''(UK)''; /ˌkɑnəˈsɝ/, /ˌkɑnəˈsʊɹ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|connoisseur]], an obsolete spelling of modern [[m|fr|connaisseur]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from [[fro|conoisseor|t=an expert, a judge]],^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Klein 1966) from [[m|fro|conoistre|t=to know]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from [[la|cognōscere|t=to get to know, recognize]] (see [[cognition]]),^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from [[m|la|com-]] and [[m|la|gnōscere|t=to recognize]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*gno-|t=to know]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==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).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==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.^(OED 1989) By 1796 it was transferred to a critic or judge of other matters of taste, such as wines or delicacies,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) so that today a connoisseur may be one who enjoys anything with discrimination and an appreciation of subtleties.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1714 – a critical judge of the fine arts.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1732 – one versed in a subject (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1796 – a judge in other matters of taste.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person with expert knowledge or training, especially in the [[fine arts]], competent to act as a critical judge.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person of informed and discriminating [[taste]], as in ''a connoisseur of fine wines''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[connoisseurship]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cognition]]

+ * [[cognoscente]]

+ * [[know]]

+ * [[reconnaissance]]

+ * [[aficionado]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}