aficionado
noun
Did you know?
Before there were nerds, geeks, stans, fanboys, or fangirls, there were aficionados. But not long before, relatively speaking. English borrowed aficionado in the early 1800s directly from Spanish, making a noun out of the past participle of the Spanish verb aficionar, which means "to inspire affection." Nerd, geek, and the rest can sometimes imply that the devotee in question is overdoing their ardor, but aficionado (which traces further back to the same Latin ancestor that gave us the English word affection) is a more neutral descriptor for someone with an abiding and thoughtful devotion to an interest or activity.
Synonyms
Examples of aficionado in a Sentence
Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator, 30 June 2008
The quality varies with the individual authors, but both history buffs and aficionados of literary criticism will find food for thought here.
—Publishers Weekly, 8 Jan. 2001
When film aficionados speak of film noir, they usually refer to the look and attitude of certain films. As critics have found, such films do not form a genre; at best, they suggest a movement.
—Bonnie Smothers, Booklist, 15 Nov. 1999
Beyond scuba diving, North Carolina's Crystal Coast and Cape Lookout are famous for fishing. Although I'm not an aficionado myself, prospective anglers need only walk the docks of Moorehead City to book inshore or Gulf Stream excursions …
—James Sturz, New York Times, 26 Apr. 1998
an aficionado of the sci-fi series who has seen all the movies several times
Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 11 Apr. 2024
Belgravia is a district known for its immaculate streets with regency-era terraced stucco townhouses, unlimited transport links, and shopping that will entice both boutique lovers and the Harrods aficionados.
—Stacey Wreathall, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2024
While well-known to sports-media aficionados, Williamson may not be the top name bandied about by the average sports fan.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
The complaint speaks directly to the tech aficionados rather than speaking over them and to a federal judge.
—Sarah Jeong, The Verge, 22 Mar. 2024
Correspondent Elizabeth Palmer visits a fish beauty pageant of sorts at the All Japan Koi Show in Tokyo, and talks with fish breeders and aficionados about the charisma of koi.
—David Morgan, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2024
On March 14, math aficionados like myself celebrate Pi Day — the number that represents the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.
—Defne Karabatur, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024
Starbucks Coffee Isn’t Burned Some coffee aficionados turn their noses up at Starbucks coffee because of its typically toasty and smoky flavors, but that's not the result of Starbucks mishandling its beans.
—Jaina Grey, WIRED, 7 Mar. 2024
Shows like The Gilded Age and The Forsyte Saga and a love for all things vintage have reintroduced the late 19th and early 20th-century sensibility to younger interior designers and home decor aficionados.
—Sharon Greenthal, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'aficionado.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Aficionado.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aficionado. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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aficionado
noun
Spanish, derived from Latin affectio "affection"
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