maven

1. (chiefly US) An expert in a given field; also, a person who is interested in and knowledgeable about a particular activity or thing; an aficionado.Examples: "Connectors know people—lots of people. Mavens know about things. They know, or find out first, what is going on. Connectors, says [Malcolm] Gladwell, need mavens to tell them what to buzz about."; "Besides an executive sponsor, you need to find a technology maven, someone within the company who understands the new technology. A maven, as defined in Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, is a person who has both information and the social skills to pass it along. The challenge in a situation such as this one is that the maven might be outside of IT."; "The goal for any media company is to be a maven—and therefore highly adept at using multiple channels of social media communication well."Synonyms: cognoscente, connoisseur, adept, ace, artist, buff, crackerjack, crack handAntonyms: campaigner, cognoscente, connoisseur, expert, journeyman, knowbie, master, mavenUS