cognoscenti

Advancedzipf 1.80

Pronunciation

/ˌkɒnjəˈʃɛnti/(kon-yuh-SHEN-tee)

Part of speech

noun (plural)formal

Chinese

鉴赏家;行家

Definition

People who are especially well informed about a particular subject, especially the fine arts.

Word family

  • cognoscente/ˌkɒnjəˈʃɛnteɪ/(n
  • singular)鉴赏家

Collocations

  • wine cognoscenti
  • art cognoscenti
  • among the cognoscenti
  • fashion cognoscenti

Examples

  1. 1.The restaurant is beloved by food cognoscenti but unknown to casual diners. (experts, connoisseurs)
  2. 2.Among jazz cognoscenti, the 1959 Miles Davis album is considered the genre's peak. (knowledgeable enthusiasts)

Synonyms

  • connoisseurs/ˌkɒnəˈsɜːz/experts, especially in fine arts
  • aficionados/əˌfɪʃəˈnɑːdəʊz/enthusiastic experts
  • experts/ˈɛkspɜːts/general

Etymology

from Italian "cognoscente" = one who knows — from Latin "cognoscere" = to know — those who know