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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
Conor Murray, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
Variety’s awards pundit Clayton Davis recently predicted Reynolds will receive a Golden Globe nomination for best actor in a musical or comedy thanks to his performance as Deadpool/Wolverine.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 6 Dec. 2024
Netflix's limited series, which premiered on Nov. 28, stars Colman Domingo as political pundit Muncie Daniels.
—Samantha Stutsman, People.com, 6 Dec. 2024
Oral arguments took place on December 4, and law nerds and political pundits are already speculating what the Court might do.
—Mark R. Weaver, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2024
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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 22 Dec. 2024.
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