Word of the Day : February 21, 2021

cognoscente \kahn-yuh-SHEN-tee\ noun

Definition

: a person who has expert knowledge in a subject : connoisseur

Did You Know?

Cognoscente and connoisseur are more than synonyms; they're also linguistic cousins. Both terms descend from the Latin verb cognōscere, meaning "to know," and they're not alone. You might guess that cognizance and cognition are members of the cognōscere 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 the language since the late 1700s.

Aired February 21, 2021

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