compurgator
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Medieval Latin compurgator or Middle French compurgateur, from Latin compurgō (“to purify”).
Noun
[edit]compurgator (plural compurgators)
- Someone who vouches for another person's innocence, trustworthiness etc.
- (now historical, law) A character witness in canon law who swore an oath that the accused was innocent.
- 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 244:
- If a wise woman fell under suspicion from the authorities her neighbours might rally to her defence, providing compurgators in court, or drawing up certificates testifying to her innocence.
- (historical, law) An ‘oath-helper’ in Anglo-Saxon or Germanic law who testified to the character of an accused person.
- (now historical, law) A character witness in canon law who swore an oath that the accused was innocent.
Related terms
[edit]Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *pewH-
- English terms borrowed from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms borrowed from Middle French
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with historical senses
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