A variant or archaic spelling of 'connoisseur,' meaning a person with expert knowledge and refined taste in a particular field like art, wine, or music.
From French 'connaisseur' (one who knows), derived from Latin 'cognoscere' meaning 'to know.' The modern spelling 'connoisseur' with double 'n' became standard, but older texts show 'connaisseur'.
The spelling 'connaisseur' versus 'connoisseur' shows how English spelling hasn't been standardized for very long—even into the 1700s, educated people spelled French loan words differently!
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