Perpetrator

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpɜː(ɹ).pɪˌtɹeɪt.ə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. Someone who carries out a wrongful or criminal act
2. An individual responsible for committing an offense or damaging action
3. A person who is the author of a harmful or unlawful deed

Etymology: Perpetrator comes from Latin "perpetrator," a noun for someone who carries out or accomplishes something. The Latin root is "perpetrare," meaning to accomplish, bring about, or complete, built from "per," meaning through or thoroughly, and "patrare," to bring about or achieve. The sense of accomplishing something was neutral in Latin, so the modern criminal association grew over time rather than being present from the start. In English, the word is formed from "perpetrate" plus the suffix "-or," which marks a person who does an action. "Perpetrate" itself entered English from the same Latin verb, and the agent noun followed it. The result is a word whose core meaning is simply the one who does the deed, which is why it works so easily for any wrongdoing, large or small.

Synonyms: offender, criminal, wrongdoer, culprit, suspect

Antonyms: victim, innocent