aficionado
noun
Did you know?
Before there were nerds, geeks, stans, fanboys, or fangirls, there were aficionados. But not long before, relatively speaking. English borrowed aficionado in the early 1800s directly from Spanish, making a noun out of the past participle of the Spanish verb aficionar, which means "to inspire affection." Nerd, geek, and the rest can sometimes imply that the devotee in question is overdoing their ardor, but aficionado (which traces further back to the same Latin ancestor that gave us the English word affection) is a more neutral descriptor for someone with an abiding and thoughtful devotion to an interest or activity.
Examples of aficionado in a Sentence
Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator, 30 June 2008
The quality varies with the individual authors, but both history buffs and aficionados of literary criticism will find food for thought here.
—Publishers Weekly, 8 Jan. 2001
When film aficionados speak of film noir, they usually refer to the look and attitude of certain films. As critics have found, such films do not form a genre; at best, they suggest a movement.
—Bonnie Smothers, Booklist, 15 Nov. 1999
Beyond scuba diving, North Carolina's Crystal Coast and Cape Lookout are famous for fishing. Although I'm not an aficionado myself, prospective anglers need only walk the docks of Moorehead City to book inshore or Gulf Stream excursions …
—James Sturz, New York Times, 26 Apr. 1998
an aficionado of the sci-fi series who has seen all the movies several times
Mariette Williams, Essence, 12 June 2025
West Coast lifestyle aficionado Snoop Dogg once wrote a song about gin and juice.
—Jeff Burkhart, Mercury News, 11 June 2025
Coffee Education And Training Programs More than just enjoying coffee, many aficionados are eager to explore the origins of coffee beans, various roasting techniques and the intricate science behind brewing.
—Sergey Baburov, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025
Sitting behind the table was Lally Adler, a gardening aficionado with extensive knowledge of native plants.
—Madison Beveridge, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for aficionado
Cite this Entry
“Aficionado.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aficionado. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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aficionado
noun
Spanish, derived from Latin affectio "affection"
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