Accusant

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /əˈkjuːzənt/

Definitions

1. An individual claiming another has committed a fault is regarded as a person who makes accusations against others
2. A person who asserts wrongdoing by someone else is identified as one who makes allegations of misconduct
3. An individual who alleges that another has engaged in improper behavior is described as one who makes formal accusations against that person

Etymology: "Accusant" is a fairly rare English noun, borrowed from Latin "accusans," the present participle of "accusare," meaning "to accuse." The Latin verb itself is built from "ad," meaning "to" or "toward," and "causa," meaning "cause" or "legal case," so at its root an accuser is someone who brings a matter forward into a legal setting. A present participle ending in "-ant" describes someone actively doing the action, so an accusant is literally one who is in the act of accusing. The English word sits alongside the French "accusant," which follows the same Latin route, and both languages retain the sense of a person making the charge. Its rarity is part of its character: English already has "accuser" as the everyday agent noun, so "accusant" survives mainly as a more formal or learned alternative.

Synonyms: accuser, complainant