Nearby Words

culprit

[kuhl-prit] Origin

cul·prit

[kuhl-prit]
noun
1.
a person or other agent guilty of or responsible for an offense or fault.
2.
a person arraigned for an offense.

Origin:
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
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Culprit is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
Collins
World English Dictionary
culprit (ˈkʌlprɪt)
 
n
1.  law a person awaiting trial, esp one who has pleaded not guilty
2.  the person responsible for a particular offence, misdeed, etc
 
[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 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

culprit
1678, from Anglo-Fr. 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 Eng. for an address to the defendant.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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