cognoscente

Cognoscente and "connoisseur" are more than synonyms; they're also linguistic cousins. Both terms descend from the Latin verb cognoscere, meaning "to know," and they're not alone. You might guess that "cognizance" and "cognition" are members of the "cognoscere" clan. Do you also recognize a family resemblance in "recognize"? Can you see through the disguise of "incognito"? Did you have a premonition that we would mention "precognition"? "Cognoscente" itself came to English by way of Italian and has been a part of our language since the late 1700s.