Culprit Definition
kŭlprĭt
culprits
noun
culprits
One charged with an offense or crime.
American Heritage
A person guilty of a crime or offense; offender.
Webster's New World
A person accused of a crime, esp. by arraignment before a law court.
Webster's New World
Anything or anyone regarded as the cause of some problem, misfortune, etc.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
- perpetrator
- malefactor
- delinquent
- convict
- offender
- transgressor
- miscreant
- villain
- criminal sinner
- criminal
- accused
- guilty party
Antonyms:
Other Word Forms of Culprit
Noun
Singular:
culprit
Plural:
culpritsOrigin of Culprit
-
Probably from cul. prit abbreviation for Anglo-Norman culpable: prit d'averrer nostre bille guilty: (I am) ready to aver our indictment culpable guilty (from Latin culpābilis culpable) prit ready (variant of prest) (from Latin praestō presto)
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
-
From Anglo-Norman cul prit, contraction of Culpable: prest (d'averrer nostre bille) (“guilty, ready (to prove our case)”), words used by prosecutor in opening a trial, mistaken in English for an address to the defendant. See culpable.
From Wiktionary
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