culprit English · revision 2357

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkʌlpɹɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ According to legal tradition, it comes from the Anglo-French abbreviation ''cul. prit'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) for ''Culpable: prest (d'averrer nostre bille)'' “Guilty: (we are) ready (to prove our indictment)”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) said by the clerk of the crown when a prisoner pleaded not guilty.^(AHD)^(OED 1989) ''Culpable'' is from Latin ''culpābilis'' “guilty”, and ''prest, prit'' “ready” from Latin ''praestō''.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Used only in the formula ''Culprit, how will you be tried?'', said by the clerk of the crown to a prisoner pleading not guilty (1678).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ When law French went out of use in the courts, the abbreviation was misunderstood as a form of address to the prisoner.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) By 1700 it meant “the accused” (as used by Dryden),^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) and by 1769, partly under the influence of Latin ''culpa'' “guilt, fault”, it meant an offender.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The OED calls this change a result of popular etymology.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Today it can also mean the cause of a problem, not only a person.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1678 – in the formula addressed to a prisoner.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD)

+ * 1700 – the accused.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1769 – an offender, one guilty of a fault.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person guilty of or responsible for a crime or fault.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Someone accused of or charged with a crime.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The source or cause of a problem.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mea culpa]]

+ * [[exculpate]]

+ * [[inculpate]]

+ * [[culpable]]

+ * [[presto]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}