1. Ace (ultimately derived from the Latin word as, “one,” “unit”): Originally, a combat pilot with at least five (later, ten) confirmed kills, or enemy planes shot down, and by extension a highly skilled person. The slang designation stems from the most valuable card in a deck and far predates powered flight; it was used to denote excellence, and eventually “top of the deck” athletes were so designated. The term is still employed in sports, as in gaining a point on a serve in tennis or hitting a hole in one in golf, as well as in the scholastic sense of performing well in a course or on a test.
2. Adept (from the Latin word adeptus, “having reached, attained”): Usually has the connotation of a mystical or secret pursuit or body of knowledge; this sense stems from the use of the term in Middle English to refer to an alchemist, and the term is widely used in heroic-fantasy literature featuring wizards and sorcerers and in writing about mysticism, though it is appropriate for general usage.
3-4. Artist (ultimately from the Latin word ars): Originally referred solely to a practitioner of art, but now often applied to someone who demonstrates skill with an artistic flourish in any pursuit. The French form, artiste, is used only facetiously or by or in reference to the pretentious.
5. Authority (from the Latin word auctoritatem, “advice, opinion”): Connotes the go-to source for, well, authoritative information or advice, or the governing agency or institution for a body of knowledge. As you may have guessed, the Latin term from which this word derives is also the source of author.
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