Etymograph

English

disculp

Disculp may come from French disculper ‘to exonerate’.

  1. Frenchc. 1600–presentdisculper1‘to exonerate’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1602disculp1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English disculp
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1602, John Donne, Letter 11 February in A. J. Kempe: “Of nothinge in this one fault […] can I…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Frenchc. 1600–presentdisculperWiktionary, English disculp‘to exonerate’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1602disculpWiktionary, English disculp. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1602, John Donne, Letter 11 February in A. J. Kempe: “Of nothinge in this one fault […] can I…”

first attested First attested in 1602 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in 1602; borrowed from French disculper or its own etymon, Medieval Latin disculpō, from dis- + culpō.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *dis-

debate, discover, discipline, disciplinary, disguise, dissent, diffuse, defraud, disciple, dissuade, diss, 10 more

Today it means

verb To disculpate.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “disculp”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / French disculper / disculp

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