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culprit

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Definition of culprit

noun

a person who is responsible for a crime or other misdeed: the car’s front nearside door had been smashed in but the culprits had fled
the cause of a problem or defect:low-level ozone pollution is the real culprit

Origin:

late 17th century (originally in the formula Culprit, how will you be tried?, said by the Clerk of the Crown to a prisoner pleading not guilty): perhaps from a misinterpretation of the written abbreviation cul. prist for Anglo-Norman French Culpable: prest d'averrer notre bille '(You are) guilty: (We are) ready to prove our indictment'; in later use influenced by Latin culpa 'fault, blame'

culprit in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of culprit in the US English dictionary

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