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It’s no hot take to say that the original pundits were highly learned scholars and teachers in India; it’s just a statement of fact. Our English word pundit comes from the Hindi word paṇḍit, a term of respect (and sometimes an honorary title) for a wise person, especially one with knowledge of philosophy, religion, and law; its ultimate source is the Sanskrit word paṇḍita, meaning “learned.” English speakers have used pundit to refer to sages of India since the 1600s, but as is typically done with English, they eventually pushed the word into new semantic territory. By the late 1800s, pundit could also refer to a member of what is sometimes called the commentariat or punditocracy—that is, the collective group of political commentators, financial analysts, and newspaper columnists often paid to share their views on a variety of subjects.
Examples of pundit in a Sentence
Steven Levy, WIRED, 8 Jan. 2025
Senior military commanders and pundits close to the government gave speeches and held question-and-answer sessions with audiences in mosques and community centers in several cities.
—Farnaz Fassihi, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2025
Many fans and pundits remain unconvinced by Tchouameni, who it is felt isn't essential to the Madrid midfield and hasn't been able to take a step forward in the post-Toni Kroos era.
—Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
Since Canada’s loss Thursday, fans and pundits in that country have done plenty of second-guessing.
—Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 3 Jan. 2025
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Dictionary Entries Near pundit
Cite this Entry
“Pundit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pundit. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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