: a person who likes, knows about, and appreciates a usually fervently pursued interest or activity : devotee
aficionados of the bullfight
movie aficionados
Did you know?
The affection an aficionado has for their favorite subject isn't merely emotional—it's also etymological. Back in the early 1800s, English borrowed aficionado from the past participle of the Spanish verb aficionar, which means "to inspire affection." That verb comes from the Spanish noun afición, meaning "affection." Both Spanish words trace to the Latin affectiō (which is also an ancestor of the English word affection). Affectiō, in turn, is from afficere ("to influence") and gave English speakers the noun and verb affect.
Such are the issues that spark hot debate among pizza chefs and aficionados. I recently visited some of the most dedicated pizza makers in the United States to have them demonstrate what makes their pizza special. Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator, 30 June 2008The 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. 2001When 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. 1999Beyond 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
Recent Examples on the WebOz, a crudité aficionado who is now running as a Republican Senate candidate for Pennsylvania, ultimately scrapped the hydroxychloroquine clinical trial idea and reportedly donated the pills to an unnamed hospital. Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 24 Aug. 2022 Not even a Reagan aficionado can make the Lebanon deployment look good. Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 20 July 2022 She’s a sucker for frou-frou aficionado Giambattista Valli, old-school couturier Ralph & Russo, and the bodycon sensibilities of Sergio Hudson. Alice Newbold, Vogue, 13 July 2022 If nothing else, this drama definitely builds off of the notion that letting a famous hoops aficionado mix with actual pro ballers equals solid gold. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 June 2022 The faux German heiress and art aficionado on Thursday hosted her first art show since being convicted at a New York City venue. Audrey Conklin, Fox News, 23 May 2022 Because the director, John Logan, is very much a horror aficionado. Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Aug. 2022 Ask any music or fashion aficionado: Between low-rise jeans, thundering nü-metal bass lines and the renaissance of Britney Spears, Y2K nostalgia is taking off.Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2022 One did not have to be an aficionado of nineteenth-century literature to recognize, in the pastimes on display, verbs in pleasant ways continuous with the past. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 3 June 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Spanish aficionado, from past participle of aficionar "to inspire devotion or affection in," verbal derivative of afición "liking, interest," going back to earlier afeción, afección, borrowed from Latin affectiōn-, affectiō "feeling, feeling of attachment" — more at affection