Incriminate
/ɪnˈkrɪm.ɪ.neɪt/noun
To accuse or show that someone is involved in a crime.
Did you know?In English, incriminate originally entered through legal Latin, where it meant to accuse someone formally, not to “make them guilty” in the modern sense.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
criminare
“to accuse, charge with a crime”
Latin
Latin
crimen
“charge, offense, accusation”
Late Latin
Latin
incriminare
“to accuse, bring a charge against”
16th–17th Century
English
incriminate
“to accuse of a crime; to implicate in wrongdoing”
Modern English
English
incriminate
“to make or show someone to be involved in a crime”
Explore more surprising origins