coupable French · revision 16958

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1172, Chrétien de Troyes, Le Chevalier au lion|origins=la culpa}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ku.pabl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''coupable''' (plural coupables)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|corpable]] (1172), ''culpables'' (12th century) and ''coupable'' (about 1179).^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|culpābilis|t=guilty, blameworthy]], a word of Christian Latin,^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|2, 1498a) from [[m|la|culpa|t=fault]], the source of [[coulpe]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ Compare [[pro|colpable]], [[es|culpable]], [[pt|culpável]] and [[it|colpevole]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Chrétien de Troyes's ''Chevalier au lion'' (1172) has ''corpable'' “who has committed a fault”;^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) the form ''coupable'' is in the ''Roman de Renart'' (about 1179).^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Unlike ''coulpe'', the word stayed in everyday use for someone guilty in the eyes of the law.^(DHLF 1992) By metonymy Molière applied it in ''Tartuffe'' (1667) to a blameworthy action or thought.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) As a noun it is sometimes weakened to “the one responsible”, jokingly.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The adverb [[coupablement]] (1573, ''corpablement'', in Baïf) is formal.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) [[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).^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1172 – ''Corpable'' in Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1179 – ''Coupable'' in the ''Roman de Renart''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1573 – ''Corpablement''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1667 – Of an action, in ''Tartuffe''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1791 – ''Culpabilité''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1946 – ''Culpabiliser''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|guilty|alt=Guilty]], having committed a fault or offence: ''être coupable d'un délit'', ''reconnu coupable'', ''plaider coupable'', to plead guilty.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Responsible (for a bad situation): ''je suis seul coupable''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Of an action or thought, blameworthy, [[m|en|culpable]].^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[m|en|culprit]], the guilty party.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[coupablement]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[culpabilité]]

+ * [[coulpe]]

+ * [[la|culpa]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate adjective ''coupable'' “that can be cut”, formed on [[couper]], dates from the 20th century.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}