Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#89127 12/08/02 10:14 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
I encountered this word in an astronomy article in DISCOVER magazine. I checked, and found
it had been used in AWADtalk, twice erroneously, and never defined.
The errors consisted of not noticing the difference between singular and plural.

cognoscente (too bad the pron;unciation marks are garbage. The "g" is not hard = conyoshentay?
n.,
pl. ti orig. prp. of conoscere, to know < L cognoscere: see COGNITION6 a person with special knowledge in some field, esp. in the fine arts; expert



#89128 12/08/02 11:17 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Cognoscente sounds like feminine plural.

M-W says it's obsolete Italian.


#89129 12/08/02 11:34 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
cognoscente

SYLLABICATION:
coˇgnoˇscenˇte
PRONUNCIATION:
AUDIO: kny-shnt, kgn- KEY
NOUN:
Inflected forms: pl. coˇgnoˇscenˇti (-t)
A person with superior, usually specialized knowledge or
highly refined taste; a connoisseur.
ETYMOLOGY:
Obsolete Italian, from Latin cognscns, cognscent-,
present participle of cognscere, to know. See cognition.


#89130 12/10/02 06:08 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 315
E
enthusiast
Offline
enthusiast
E
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 315
cognscns, cognscent-, present participle of cognscere, to know
too many missing "o" to be typos...
I think that it has to be cognoscere, and so on...
And, Faldage, it is not feminine plural. The modern form " conoscente" is (used as a) noun, and has equal masculine and feminine form. The literal meaning is " the one who knows" , but now it is used as " an acquaintance"


Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,957
Likes: 2
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,957
Likes: 2
The literal meaning is " the one who knows" , but now it is used as " an acquaintance"

Dunno that I agree with that one. I've only heard it used to refer to those "in the know," meaning experts, authorities in a field, "mavens." Perhaps with a sense of inflated self-importance thrown in. The cognoscenti are a cut above hoi polloi.

Having it mean "acquaintance" is a totally brand-new usage to me. Maybe I'm too much into Gilbert and Sullivan...



Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
emanuela is Italian, so she's offering a different perspective.

I don't think in English we would think of it as an acquaintance, but we ain't the whole world.


Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
we ain't the whole world.

Best watch where you say treasonous stuff like that, young lady.


Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Sadly, the world is full of ignoscentes.



Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,915
Posts229,994
Members9,198
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
testawad, Bill_L, achz, MAGNVSTALSMA, Burlyfish
9,198 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 848 guests, and 2 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
wofahulicodoc 10,957
tsuwm 10,542
LukeJavan8 9,955
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2025 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5