湖边社【每日一词】culprit - n. 罪犯，过失者；问题的起因
Definition: noun
1: one accused of or charged with a crime
The culprit pleaded "not guilty."
2: one guilty of a crime or a fault
The culprit expressed remorse at his sentencing.
3: the source or cause of a problem
Lack of exercise and poor diet are the main culprits in heart disease.
Did you know?
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.”
Synonyms
- criminal,crook,lawbreaker,malefactor,miscreant,offender
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
Doncic was the main culprit, needing only 23 minutes to reach 42 points.
—Andrew Greif, Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2023
But many scientists say that one culprit is particularly to blame for the Delhi smog: farmers burning rice stubble in Punjab, an agrarian state to the northwest.
—Hari Kumar, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2023
This includes mild or severe allergies, infections, inflammatory conditions, and hormonal changes, though many experts point to lifestyle as a primary culprit.
—Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 3 Nov. 2023