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We would be culpable—that is, deserving of blame—if we didn’t clearly explain the origin of culprit. Yes, it is related to culpable, which itself comes (via Middle English and Anglo-French) from the Latin verb culpare, meaning “to blame.” But the etymology of culprit is not so straightforward. In Anglo-French, culpable meant “guilty,” and this was abbreviated “cul.” in legal briefs and texts. Culprit was formed by combining this abbreviation with the Anglo-French word prest or prit, meaning “ready”; literally, a culprit was one who was ready to be proven guilty. The word was eventually adopted into English and used to refer to someone who is accused of a wrongdoing. The word has since taken on an additional meaning: “the source or cause of a problem.”
Examples of culprit in a Sentence
Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2025
After all, smartphones are an easy culprit of a collective sense of digital despair.
—Boone Ashworth, Wired News, 3 Apr. 2025
The real culprits, of course, are those bio-raptors who have a severe allergic reaction to light, and (much like certain species of cicada) have lain dormant for years on end.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 2 Apr. 2025
In the original scene, Neeson is notified over the phone that his daughter has been kidnapped, prompting him to threaten the culprits and set out on his quest to find her.
—EW.com, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for culprit
Cite this Entry
“Culprit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culprit. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.
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culprit
noun
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