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culprit - 4 dictionary results

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 (repr. L culpābilis guilty) + prit (repr. AF prest ready), marking the prosecution as ready to prove the defendant's guilt. See culpable, presto
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).]

Culprit

Cul"prit\ (k[u^]l"pr?t), n. [Prob. corrupted for culpate, fr. Law Latin culpatus the accused, p. p. of L. culpare to blame. See Culpable.]

1. One accused of, or arraigned for, a crime, as before a judge.

An author is in the condition of a culprit; the public are his judges. --Prior.

2. One quilty of a fault; a criminal.
Language Translation for : culprit
Spanish: culpable, acusado,
German: der, *die Schuldige,
Japanese: 犯人

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.
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