pundit

plural pundits · alternative pandit

1. An expert in a particular field, especially as called upon to provide comment or opinion in the media; a commentator, a critic.First known use 19th c.

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

   2006 June 4, The Observer

2. A learned person in India; someone with knowledge of Sanskrit, philosophy, religion and law; a Hindu scholar.First known use 17th c.

   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.

   1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘On the City Wall’, In Black and White, Folio Society, published 2005, page 430

3. historicalA native surveyor in British India, trained to carry out clandestine surveillance beyond British borders.

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

   1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society, published 2010, page 295