When:
Lookups spiked on September 11, 2014.
Why:
Oscar Pistorius was found guilty of "culpable homicide" in South Africa, a crime equivalent to manslaughter. He was found not guilty of murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Manslaughter means "the crime of killing a person without intending to do so."
Culpable means "deserving blame" or "guilty of doing something wrong." It comes from Latin word culpa, meaning "guilt."
A related word, exculpatory, was also looked up in large numbers this week: it was used in The Daily Show's segment about the NFL's response to Ray Rice's assault on his fiancée in an elevator. The same etymological root connects two stories of elite athletes who committed violence against women.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
