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We would be culpable if we didn't clearly explain the origins behind culprit. Yes, it is related to culpable, which itself derives from Latin culpare, meaning "to blame," via Middle English and Anglo-French. 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 prest, prit, meaning "ready"-that is, ready to prove an accusation. Literally, then, a culprit was one who was ready to be proven guilty. English then borrowed the word for one accused of a wrongdoing.

Examples of culprit in a Sentence

The police eventually located the culprits. the police caught the culprit a mere two blocks from the scene of the crime

Recent Examples on the Web Do not just assume the cat has acne as other conditions such as mange, fungal infections or even tumors could be the culprit. — Traci Howerton, NOLA.com, "Cat acne -- yes, it's a thing, and it may require treatment by a vet," 12 Jan. 2021 When your hair isn’t the culprit, your diet may be. — Brooklyn White, Essence, "What Do Different Facial Breakouts Mean?," 24 Dec. 2020 President Trump has the cyber-espionage campaign, suggesting China could be the culprit, but top U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr, have pointed fingers at Russia. — Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, ""Dozens" of top Treasury email accounts hacked, senator says," 22 Dec. 2020 Thanksgiving alone is not the culprit, as cases were clearly rising in early November. — Whet Moser, The Atlantic, "California Has Lost Control," 21 Dec. 2020 One prevailing theory is that herpes simplex virus may be the culprit. — Miriam Fauzia, USA TODAY, "Fact check: Bell's palsy among COVID-19 trial participants likely unrelated to Pfizer vaccine," 15 Dec. 2020 Climate change has also been named as one possible culprit for the mass die-off that caused an unusually high number of whale fatalities last year, when more than a dozen carcasses washed up on Bay Area shores. — Nora Mishanec, SFChronicle.com, "With classic lookouts closed, here are the best Bay Area spots to catch migrating gray whales," 2 Jan. 2021 Although the economy is largely the culprit for the lower demand, other factors are also at play. — Suzanne Vranica, WSJ, "Super Bowl Advertisers Gravitate to Humor in a Hard Time," 23 Dec. 2020 The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI have not publicly said who was behind the attacks, but a number of cybersecurity experts have flagged Russia as the likely culprit. — William Cummings, USA TODAY, "'Extraordinary': Mitt Romney slams White House 'silence and inaction' in response to cyberattack," 18 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'culprit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.