I. ˈeryəˌdīt also ˈerəˌ-; usu -īd.+V adjective
Etymology: Middle English erudit, from Latin eruditus learned, skilled, experienced, from past participle of erudire to polish, instruct, from e- + rudis rude, unpolished, unskilled, ignorant — more at rude
1. : possessing or displaying erudition : learned
an erudite lawyer
an unusually winning prologue … erudite but not academic — Louis Untermeyer
specifically : concerned with unduly specialized information : pedantic , bookish
contains a vast amount of information without being erudite — Liturgical Arts
knows about … sea fighting in a fashion too informed to be erudite — R.J.Purcell
2. : characterized by a love of knowledge for its own sake : devoted to the pursuit of learning
minutiae that interest only the most erudite scholars
II. noun
( -s )
: an erudite person
she was a well-known figure among the erudites of the area