Etymologically
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guilty

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 21:33. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɡɪl.ti/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English gilty,[2] inherited from Old English gyltiġ (“offending, delinquent, criminal”),[3][4] formed from gylt, the source of guilt, with the suffix -ig, the source of -y.[3][2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

“That has offended, delinquent, criminal”: about 1000 in the OED,[6] in Old English.[3][7]

Semantic evolution

In law, “that has committed a particular offence”, it is from the late 13th century,[3] 1297 in the OED.[6] “Culpably responsible for a result”, guilty of, is from before 1225,[6] and “deserving of a penalty” from about 1380, now obsolete.[6][7] Of the conscience or mind, “laden with guilt”, it is from 1593, and of feelings prompted by a sense of guilt from the same year,[6] the 1590s in Etymonline.[3] To plead not guilty is from the 15th century, but to plead guilty only from the 19th: the OED notes that guilty is technically not a plea but a confession.[3] Johnson in 1755 derived it from a Saxon giltig, “one condemned to pay a fine for an offence”.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – delinquent, criminal.[6]
  • a. 1225 – responsible for a result.[6]
  • 1297 – having committed an offence.[6]
  • 15th century – plead not guilty.[3]
  • 1593 – of the conscience, laden with guilt.[6]
  • 19th century – plead guilty.[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Responsible for a wrong or a crime; deserving blame.
  2. Found by a court to have committed a crime.
  3. Feeling or showing guilt: a guilty conscience.
  4. Suggesting or involving guilt: a guilty look.

Word family

  • guiltily
  • guiltiness
  • bloodguilty
  • guilt
  • guiltless

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.