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What do you call someone who knows the exact denotation of many words and uses very specific words to describe something?
I remember reading a sentence that went like this: Only a _____ knows the meaning of _____. (where ____ is the word I'm looking for)
How about lexicographer? From Lexico:
lexicographer: A person who compiles dictionaries.
Your example:
Only a lexicographer would know the meaning of X.
Another possibility is vocabularian. From Wiktionary:
vocabularian: One who cultivates a large vocabulary.
Your example:
Only a vocabularian would know the meaning of X.
How about wordsmith?
Only a wordsmith knows the meaning of _____.
Wordsmith (noun): A person skilled in using words.
From comments under the question, a word that is of the same type as what is being looked for is pedant:
[Merriam-Webster]
1 a : one who is unimaginative or who unduly emphasizes minutiae in the presentation or use of knowledge
1 b : one who makes a show of knowledge
1 c : a formalist or precisionist in teaching
