Latin Peeps Represent!

[demiurgent]

Folks who know from Latin:

I know that the Italian word 'cognoscenti' is derived from the Latin word cognosco. However, I've got a sense that 'cognoscenti' itself is also Latin. Is it? If not, what would the appropriate Latin word be for 'enlightened ones?'

Comments

[demiurgent.livejournal.com]

Oh, yay on opera references in usernames!