culprit

[kuhl-prit]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR culprit ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or other agent guilty of or responsible for an offense or fault.

a person arraigned for an offense.

Origin of culprit

1670–80; traditionally explained as cul (representing Latin culpābilis guilty) + prit (representing Anglo-French prest ready), marking the prosecution as ready to prove the defendant's guilt. See culpable, presto

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for culprit

Contemporary Examples of culprit

Plus there is another problem that the viruses pose—the problem that apparently is the culprit this year—they evolve.
When You Get the Flu This Winter, You Can Blame Anti-Vaxxers
Kent Sepkowitz
January 1, 2015
In both cases, the culprit is one perceived to be “the Other”: gays, the African president, whatever.
Liberian Pastors Blame Ebola on Gays, The Right Blames Obama
Jay Michaelson
October 27, 2014
The other culprit, of course, is the one misanthropic jerk who reported “several hundred” names to the Facebook robot.
Facebook Apologizes For, but Doesn’t Retract, Discriminatory ‘Real Name’ Policy
Jay Michaelson
October 1, 2014
Personally, I support their efforts to find the culprit or the culprits.
Vilified Bitcoin Tycoon After Losing $500 Million: My Life Is at Risk
Nathalie-Kyoko Stucky
September 17, 2014
That leaves one other improbable but ultimately most likely culprit: a high-mass, low-temperature white dwarf.
Space’s Mysterious Earth-Sized White Diamond
Matthew R. Francis
June 29, 2014

Historical Examples of culprit

There was a refreshing novelty in this case, where one of themselves was the culprit.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
I passed through the gossiping crowd with bread and water for my culprit.
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
She looked like a culprit whom direst vengeance had overtaken at last.
Meadow Grass
Alice Brown
No culprit was ever required to bear witness against himself!
Salted With Fire
George MacDonald
The misunderstanding was an unfortunate affair for the culprit.
Homeward Bound
James Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for culprit

culprit

noun

law a person awaiting trial, esp one who has pleaded not guilty

the person responsible for a particular offence, misdeed, etc

Word Origin for culprit

C17: from Anglo-French cul-, short for culpable guilty + prit ready, indicating that the prosecution was ready to prove the guilt of the one charged

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for culprit

1670s, from Anglo-French cul prit, contraction of Culpable: prest (d'averrer nostre bille) "guilty, ready (to prove our case)," words used by prosecutor in opening a trial. It seems the abbreviation cul. prit was mistaken in English for an address to the defendant.