/ ˈkʌlprɪt; NAmE / noun
1.
a person who has done sth wrong or against the law :
The police quickly identified the real culprits.
2.
a person or thing responsible for causing a problem :
The main culprit in the current crisis seems to be modern farming techniques.
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WORD ORIGIN
late 17th cent. (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.