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culprit

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cul⋅prit

  [kuhl-prit]
Use culprit in a Sentence
–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 (repr. L culpābilis guilty) + prit (repr. AF prest ready), marking the prosecution as ready to prove the defendant's guilt. See culpable, presto
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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cul·prit   (kŭl'prĭt)   
n.  

  1. One charged with an offense or crime.

  2. One guilty of a fault or crime.


[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; see culpable) + *prit, ready (variant of prest, from Latin praestō; see presto).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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