mea culpa

[ mey-uh kuhl-puh, mee-uh; Latin me-ah kool-pah ]

interjection

1. my fault! (used as an acknowledgment of one's responsibility).

noun

, plural me·a cul·pas.

1. an acknowledgment of one's responsibility for a fault or error.

mea culpa

/ ˈmeɪɑː ˈkʊlpɑː /

(no translation)

1. an acknowledgment of guilt

mea culpa

1. An expression from Catholic ritual that assigns blame to oneself: “I gave you the wrong directions to my house — mea culpa.” From Latin , meaning “my fault” or “my blame.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of mea culpa¹

From Latin: literally “through my fault”; mea culpa def 1 was first recorded in 1200–50, and mea culpa def 2 in 1815–20; culpa ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of mea culpa¹

literally: my fault

Example Sentences

So he’s about to offer a rare mea culpa — and undertake an ambitious plan to remake programming at MTV and sister units, including Comedy Central, VH1 and even Paramount Plus.

From Washington Post

How Facebook wrote its rules for TrumpZuckerberg’s testimony will not be a mea culpa.

From Washington Post

As a lighthearted mea culpa, the introductory video for Neutron showed Beck eating his own hat.

From MIT Technology Review

Speaking to reporters outside his home, he offered an explanation that doubled as a mea culpa.

From Washington Post

Jackson and the other “Countdown” hosts all gave mea culpas on the show that aired the Sunday after Limbaugh’s comments.

From Washington Post

In Washington, where politicians have mastered the art of the mea culpa, those words would not normally warrant much attention.

From The Daily Beast

Like Gates, I also lost my policy objectivity—mea culpa—but for all the right reasons, as I believed then and still do.

From The Daily Beast

Now I think Obama was right to do that mea culpa bit last week.

From The Daily Beast

At the end, the two embraced and Eminem flicked off the crowd, a middle-finger mea culpa.

From The Daily Beast

The right thing to do would be a formal mea culpa from the author.

From The Daily Beast

I know too well how little I profited by all his warnings, and I cry, Mea culpa.

From Project Gutenberg

For this, I can only beat my breast violently and mutter mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

From Project Gutenberg

If he had been differently brought up, he might have beaten his breast and cried, "Mea culpa!"

From Project Gutenberg

He closeth his eyes and saith his mea culpa and setteth all his hopes in God.

From Project Gutenberg

T is my ungoverned spirit hath wrought all this mischief,—mea culpa!

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• my bad
• my fault

More About Mea Culpa

What does mea culpa mean?

Mea culpa is the Latin way of saying my bad. It literally means “through my (own) fault.”

Mea culpa can be used as an interjection (much like my fault or my bad) or as a noun referring to an apology, as in The senator offered a mea culpa during the press conference.

Example: Dave usually has a hard time admitting he’s wrong, so his mea culpa means a lot.

Where does mea culpa come from?

Mea culpa is a direct loan of a Latin phrase meaning ‘through my (own) fault.” It’s made of the parts mea, meaning “by me” or “through me,” and culpa, meaning “fault.” Culpa is also the root of the words culpable, meaning “deserving blame,” and culprit, meaning “a person guilty of something.”

The phrase mea culpa comes from a Roman Catholic prayer for confessing sin and seeking forgiveness. One line of the prayer is mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa, which is usually translated as “through my own fault, through my own fault, through my most grievous fault.”

The phrase was borrowed directly from this prayer and has been in use as an admission of guilt since at least the 1200s. The noun form referring to an apology seems to be much newer, with the first records of it coming from the 1800s. The phrase is now commonly used both ways. When you eat your roommate’s leftover burrito without asking, you could say mea culpa, or you could offer a mea culpa by admitting that you did it and saying that you’re sorry. Or you could just stop eating your roommate’s food!

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for mea culpa?

• my fault
• my bad
• apology
• confession
• admission of guilt

What are some words that share a root or word element with mea culpa? 

 

• culpable
• culprit

What are some words that often get used in discussing mea culpa?

 

• sorry
• fault
• blame
• error
• guilty
• wrong

How is mea culpa use in real life?

When used as an interjection, mea culpa is usually used to apologize for minor offenses and often has a lighthearted tone. But this is not necessarily the case when it’s used as a noun—it could be used for major admissions of guilt.

Credit where credit is due. @nntaleb and @normonics foresaw the whipsaw panic that those of us taking a "wait and see" approach, discounted. Had voluntary measures been widespread early on, public confidence might be higher, and some of the current disruption avoided. Mea culpa. https://t.co/QstEpFMgU2

— Casey B. Head (@CaseyBHead) March 9, 2020

So apparently Merril Hoge, on ESPN this morning, called Tim Tebow a phony. This is a guy who offered a mea culpa to Tebow two years ago.

— OnlyGators.com 🐊 Florida Gators news (@onlygators) December 24, 2012

From what I've seen a # of folks who were caught up are thankful that they were checked and issued a mea culpa. If folks aren't adult enough to acknowledge that they were sucked in by a deception – and use it as a learning experience, perhaps Twitter isn't the place for them.

— The Rose Lady (@The_Rose_Lady) March 25, 2018

 

 

Try using mea culpa!

Is mea culpa used correctly in the following passage?

You’re right—I messed up the accounts. Mea culpa.