An aficionado is someone who is very interested in one activity or subject and knows a lot about it — jazz, wine, football, coffee, old cameras. It is a slightly fancy noun borrowed from Spanish, and it sits a step above fan. A fan may just cheer; an aficionado is the person who can talk for a long time about why one recording, one bean, or one match was better than another. Though actually, it does not mean a cold professional. The Spanish idea underneath is fondness: you care, so you learned. You can be an aficionado of something quite ordinary, and people sometimes use the word with a small smile, as if to say they know they are a bit serious about this. It is not a job title and it does not come with a salary. It is not only for men, even though older English examples often were. In English the Spanish word is already the English word; you do not need to dress it up further.