Those who have or are held to have superior knowledge and understanding of a particular field. But can apply to any field as in "Begian cognoscenti think.." or "the opinion of corporate congnoscenti seems to be..." etc.
From the Latin cognoscens, cognoscent-, present participle of cognoscere, to know. In modern Italian, it's Cognoscente.
related nodes:
Also, a brand of pool cue. (No I'm not kidding).
Source:
http://www.ovationtv.com/artszone/programs/elisir/matter.html
Last Updated 6.10.03