They're wonderful. They're obscure. They're often quite pointless.
When:
Lookups spiked on October 4, 2012.
Why:
After the first presidential debate, there was much reporting about what the "pundits" thought.
A pundit is "a person who gives opinions in an authoritative manner usually through the mass media" or, more simply, "a critic."
Some commentary even suggested that we've become "a country full of pundits" because of instant reactions on Twitter and Facebook.
Despite its current association with cable news and social media, the word comes from the Hindi language. In India, it still means "a wise or learned man."
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
