Pundit was among our top lookups on November 1st, 2017, with an increase of approximately 13,000% over its typical rate, following a prominent appearance in the headline of an article by Chris Cillizza on cnn.com.
The NYC attack is the latest proof Donald Trump is our first pundit president
— CNN Politics (cnn.com), 1 Nov. 2017
The word comes from the Hindi paṇḍit, taken from the Sanskrit word paṇḍita, meaning “learned.” We have been using pundit (often found in early use in a variety of spellings) since the 17th century, initially with the definition of “a wise or learned man in India —often used as an honorary title.” The generalized sense which is more often found today (“a person who gives opinions in an authoritative manner usually through the mass media”) began seeing use approximately 200 years ago.
I call it Mystery, because they keep it very secret amongst them; and if it had not been for this Pendet or Indian Doctor, to whom Danechmend-kan gave a Pension, and who durst hide nothing from him; and if also Danechmend-kan had not known the Mysteries of the Cabala of the Soufys, I should not have discover'd so much of it.
— Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, Collections of Travels Through Turky into Persia, 1684
