connoisseur

/ˈkɑnəˌsʌr/

/kɒnəˈsjʊ/

Other forms: connoisseurs

A connoisseur is a person who, through study and interest, has a fine appreciation for something, like the connoisseur who can identify the clarinet player on a jazz recording by the sound of his inhalations alone.

A connoisseur is an authority in his field, someone who has expert knowledge and training, especially in the arts. A connoisseur may also be someone with an extremely developed sense of taste, like the connoisseur who can identify rare wine by a flavor others can't even detect. Then again, some people call themselves connoisseurs of just about anything they like — pizza, old vinyl albums, even cartoons — because they know so much about it.

Definitions of connoisseur

1. noun

   an expert able to appreciate a field; especially in the fine arts
   synonyms: cognoscente

   types:

   aesthete, esthete

   one who professes great sensitivity to the beauty of art and nature

   wine lover

   a connoisseur of fine wines; a grape nut

   type of:

   authority

   an expert whose views are taken as definitive