Atwite

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To hold someone responsible for a fault or wrong and voice criticism of them for it
2. To find fault with a person and lay the blame for something bad at their door
3. To censure or reproach another for an offence, often in an archaic or Scots manner

Etymology: Old English "ætwītan" meant "to blame" or "to reproach," and it was built from two plain parts: "æt," meaning "at, near, or toward," and "wītan," meaning "to accuse or blame." The verb "wite" is the older root, and it carries a surprisingly wide ancestry. It goes back to a Proto-Germanic word that could mean "to punish," "to torment," "to know," or "to see," all traceable to an ancient root meaning "to see." Those senses hint at how close blame and knowing once were: to accuse someone was, in a sense, to fix your gaze on their fault. The prefix "at-" added a sense of direction, so to "atwite" someone was to throw the fault toward them. In Middle English the word passed into use with a range of meanings, including attributing something to a person, charging someone with a wrong, speaking ill of them, and taunting them. The taunting sense shows how reproach could slide from formal accusation into open insult.