Pundit
Etymology
From Hindi paṇḍit, from Sanskrit paṇḍita (“learned, a scholar”). In British India a “pundit” was a learned Hindu, especially in law, religion, or philosophy — and later even the trained Indian surveyors who secretly mapped the Himalayas. English kept the sense of a learned authority, then narrowed it to the media expert.
noun · /PUN-dit/
A commentator who offers opinions and analysis on a subject to the public.
What it names
The professional opinion-giver — the person on the panel or the op-ed page paid to explain events, whether or not they truly know the field.
Example
By nine o’clock every pundit on the network had already declared the debate a turning point.
Related idea
An expert actually knows the field; a pundit is paid to opine on it publicly, which is not always the same thing.