English

Alternative forms

• pandit

Noun

pundit ‎(plural pundits)

1. A self-professed expert in a particular field, especially as called upon to provide comment or opinion in the media; a commentator, a critic. [from 19th c.]
   • 2006, The Observer, 4 Jun 2006:

     This week we introduce Jenny Walker, who will be The Observer's expert pundit for the duration of the World Cup.

2. A learned person in India; someone with knowledge of Sanskrit, philosophy, religion and law; a Hindu scholar. [from 17th c.]
   • 1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘On the City Wall’, In Black and White, Folio Society 2005, p. 430:

     Pundits in black gowns, with spectacles on their noses and undigested wisdom in their insides; bearded headmen of the wards; [...] all these people and more also you might find in the white room.

3. (historical) A native surveyor in British India, trained to carry out clandestine surveillance beyond British borders.
   • 1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society 2010, p. 295:

     At every hundredth pace the Pundit would automatically slip one bead. Each complete circuit of the rosary thus represented ten thousand paces.

Translations

See also

• hafiz, hafez
• pandit
• qari'