Criminate
/ˈkrɪmɪneɪt/noun
To accuse or charge someone with a crime, or to make someone appear guilty.
Did you know?The core Latin root *crimen* originally meant a charge, accusation, or legal “decision point,” so this word entered English through the world of law before it became a darker-sounding modern verb.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*krei-
“to sieve, separate, distinguish”
Latin
Latin
cerno
“to sift, separate, discern”
Latin
Latin
crimen
“a charge, accusation, fault, crime”
Late Latin
Latin
criminare
“to accuse”
16th Century
English
criminate
“to accuse or charge with a crime”
Explore more surprising origins