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cognoscente

noun co·gno·scen·te \ ˌkän-yə-ˈshen-tē , ˌkäg-nə- , -ˈsen- \

Definition of cognoscente

plural cognoscenti play \ˌkän-yə-ˈshen-tē, ˌkäg-nə-, -ˈsen-\
:a person who has expert knowledge in a subject :connoisseur
  • a computer cognoscente
  • a cognoscente of the art world

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Examples of cognoscente in a Sentence

  1. a cognoscente of medieval painting

  2. cognoscenti in the art world knew that most of the works being auctioned off were second-rate stuff

Did You Know?

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.

Origin and Etymology of cognoscente

borrowed from Italian (now spelled conoscente), from cognoscente, conoscente adjective, "knowing," from present participle of cognoscere, conoscere "to know, have knowledge of," going back to Latin cognōscere "to get to know, acquire knowledge of" — more at cognition

cognoscente Synonyms

Synonyms
connoisseur, dilettante
Antonyms
amateur, inexpert, nonexpert
Related Words
adept, authority, expert, maestro, master, past master, scholar, virtuoso; critic, reviewer; amateur, dabbler; collector; specialist; aficionado (also afficionado), buff, devotee, enthusiast, fan
Near Antonyms
groundling, lowbrow, materialist, philistine

Phrases Related to COGNOSCENTE

Related Phrases

Learn More about cognoscente

  1. See words that rhyme with cognoscente Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for cognoscente

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Examples: cognoscente in a Sentence
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