cognoscente

English

WOTD – 27 November 2008    

Etymology

Obsolete Italian cognoscente (now conoscente) from Latin cognoscere "to know"

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /kɒnjəˈʃɛnteɪ/
• (US) IPA: /ˌkɑɡ.nəˈʃɛn.ti/, /ˌkɑn.jəˈʃɛn.ti/

• Audio (US)

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  Audio (US)

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Noun

cognoscente (plural cognoscenti)

1. Someone possessing superior or specialized knowledge in a particular field; a connoisseur.
   • 1998, Marc J. Seifer, chapter 42, Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla: Biography of a Genius, ISBN 0806519606, page 397:

     At night, as creative author, the cognoscente sketched out the first draft of his expanded autobiography.

Translations

Someone possessing superior or specialized knowledge in a particular field; a connoisseur

• Czech: expert (cs) m, znalec (cs) m
• Russian: знаток (ru) (znatók) m  (superior), эксперт (ru) (ekspért) m and f  (specialized)

• Spanish: experto (es)
• Swedish: expert (sv) c, kännare (sv) c

Related terms

• cognition
• cognizance

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Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA: /koɲoˈʃɛnte/

Verb

cognoscente

1. (obsolete) Present participle of cognoscere.