Commentariat

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A collective of experts and commentators who analyze and provide opinions on media and socio-political matters
2. A group of analysts and journalists whose insights shape the public narrative regarding news and current affairs
3. A body of experts or commentators who offer analysis and opinions on public issues

Etymology: The word "commentariat" was formed by blending "commentary" with "proletariat," the term for the working class, and it is likely that the model was further shaped by words such as "proprietariat" (the propertied class) and "salariat" (the salaried class). The "-ariat" ending, borrowed in this sense from the Latin collective suffix, lets a noun name a whole group of people defined by a shared role or condition, which explains why the new coinage sounds so much like a social class. The joke is built into the construction. Where "proletariat" describes people who labour, "commentariat" describes people who talk, writing columns, appearing on panels and offering verdicts on public affairs. The word therefore casts professional opinion-givers as a kind of class of their own, with the same collective identity and sometimes the same tribal habits that the older word implied. It may also owe something to "secretariat," which shares the same "-ariat" pattern, though the exact influences remain uncertain.

Synonyms: commenters, analysts, pundits, commentators, critics