vocabulary - Simple word related to "a group of intellectuals" or "a group of smart learners"

What could be a good word for "a group of intellectuals" or "a group of smart learners"? Any suggestions of related terms also invited.

Answer

Intelligentsia. A word of Russian origin (интеллигенция,intelligyentsia), imported into English in 1905, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary . It might be a little outmoded now.

Of course you might invent words like punditorat ...