disculpate

See also: discúlpate

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin disculpātus, perfect passive participle of disculpō (“to disculpate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from dis- (“off”, denoting the ending of an action) + culpō (“to blame”), from culpa (“fault”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of disculp.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): [ˈdɪskʌɫpeɪt], [ˈdɪskʊɫpeɪt]

Verb

disculpate (third-person singular simple present disculpates, present participle disculpating, simple past and past participle disculpated)

1. (transitive) To free from blame or the imputation of a fault; to exonerate. [from 17th c.]
   • 1764, Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto, section II:

     He […] endeavoured to disculpate the youth, and left no method untried to soften the tyrant's rage.

Related terms

• culpable
• culpate
• culprit
• disculp
• exculpate
• inculpate
• mea culpa

Anagrams

• duplicates, spiculated

Spanish

Verb

disculpate

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of disculpar combined with te