culpa
Americannoun
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Roman and Civil Law. negligence; neglect (distinguished from dolus).
One is not always liable before law for culpa resulting in damages.
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guilt; sin.
noun
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civil law an act of neglect
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a fault; sin; guilt
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of culpa
1250–1300; Old English < Latin: fault, liability, blame
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An image quickly flashes onto the evidence screen - it's an episode of Cohen's Mea Culpa podcast.
From BBC • May 16, 2024
“They do a digital Mea Culpa and then — one way or another — proceed with their plan.”
From Washington Post • Sep. 27, 2021
Jonah Lehrer’s Mea Sorta Culpa His problem cannot be solved with “standard operating procedures.”
From Slate • Feb. 13, 2013
"Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God" explores the impact of the Roman Catholic Church's protocol as dictated from the Vatican for dealing with pedophile priests.
From Reuters • Nov. 16, 2012
He tapped his breast solemnly when he reached the words that always moved him, even though spoken in the secret tongue of a dead language: Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
