Word of the Day

: May 1, 2015

aficionado

noun uh-fish-ee-uh-NAH-doh

What It Means

: a person who likes, knows about, and appreciates a usually fervently pursued interest or activity : devotee

aficionado in Context

Mickey's brother, an aficionado of jazz, was a regular at the downtown clubs and often bought new records on the day they were released.

"For American chess aficionados, lopsided defeats in three U.S. vs. U.S.S.R. team matches in less than a decade after World War II was an understandably painful blow." - Shelby Lyman, The Charlotte Observer (North Carolina), April 3, 2015

Did You Know?

The affection an aficionado has for his or her 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 affectio (which is also an ancestor of the English word affection). Affectio, in turn, is from afficere ("to influence") and gave English speakers the noun and verbs affect.