Where does “culprit” come from?
Culprit comes from Old French culpable, from Latin culpabilis meaning deserving blame, derived from Latin culpa meaning fault or blame, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kʷel-.
culprit (English): The person or thing at fault for a problem or...
Definitions
- The person or thing at fault for a problem or...
Ancestry of “culprit”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old French | culpable | — |
| 2 | Latin | culpābilis | — |
| 3 | Latin | culpo | I blame |
| 4 | Latin | culpa | fault, defect; blame, guilt; crime |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | kʷolpā | mistake; fault |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷolp-eh₂ | bend, turn |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷelp- | to bend; to curve, arch |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷel- | to turn |
Words derived from “culprit”