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A culprit is the person who did something wrong, or the real cause behind a problem. You might ask 'who's the culprit?' after finding a broken vase, or say 'sugar is the culprit' behind a health problem, meaning sugar is the true cause. It doesn't have to be a serious crime — it's often used lightly, even about small household mysteries.
罪魁禍首、元兇
組成this word probably comes from old legal shorthand in English courts — 'cul.' plus 'prit', short Anglo-French for 'guilty, [and I am] ready [to prove it]', which lawyers once wrote to open a criminal case.
原始詞典資料2 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
culpritnoun/ˈkʌlpɹɪt/
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The person or thing at fault for a problem or crime.
- I have tightened the loose bolt that was the culprit; it should work now.
- Another sits beneath the purple canopy—a lady, but alone. The diadem is on her cold and haughty brow; there is no pity in her stern aspect, and the smile on her lip bodes death. Before her stands the lovely culprit, whose fatal beauty, and still more fatal love, are about to be dearly requited.
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lawA prisoner accused but not yet tried.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。