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coupable

Etymology and origin of the French word coupable

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1172, Chrétien de Troyes, Le Chevalier au lion
Inherited from
Latin culpabilis
Ultimate origin
Latin (culpa)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ku.pabl/[1]

Forms

coupable (plural coupables)[1] Old French corpable (1172), culpables (12th century) and coupable (about 1179).[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin culpābilis (“guilty, blameworthy”), a word of Christian Latin,[4][2][1][5] from culpa (“fault”), the source of coulpe.[2][4][6]

Compare Old Occitan colpable, Spanish culpable, Portuguese culpável and Italian colpevole.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Chrétien de Troyes's Chevalier au lion (1172) has corpable “who has committed a fault”;[2][4] the form coupable is in the Roman de Renart (about 1179).[2]

Semantic evolution

Unlike coulpe, the word stayed in everyday use for someone guilty in the eyes of the law.[4] By metonymy Molière applied it in Tartuffe (1667) to a blameworthy action or thought.[2][4][7] As a noun it is sometimes weakened to “the one responsible”, jokingly.[4]

The adverb coupablement (1573, corpablement, in Baïf) is formal.[2][4] culpabilité was formed much later (1791) on the stem of the Latin word, and psychology gave it complexe de culpabilité and the verb culpabiliser (1946).[4]

Timeline

  • 1172 – Corpable in Chrétien de Troyes.[2]
  • c. 1179 – Coupable in the Roman de Renart.[2]
  • 1573 – Corpablement.[2]
  • 1667 – Of an action, in Tartuffe.[2]
  • 1791 – Culpabilité.[4]
  • 1946 – Culpabiliser.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Guilty, having committed a fault or offence: être coupable d'un délit, reconnu coupable, plaider coupable, to plead guilty.[8][1]
  2. Responsible (for a bad situation): je suis seul coupable.[8][1]
  3. Of an action or thought, blameworthy, culpable.[7][2]

Noun

  1. The culprit, the guilty party.[1][4]

Word family

  • coupablement
  • culpabilité
  • coulpe
  • Latin culpa

Usage notes

A separate adjective coupable “that can be cut”, formed on couper, dates from the 20th century.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1498a
  6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Coupable.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/coupable. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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