Word.ws English Dictionary

tua culpa

tua culpa phrase: your (singular) fault, due to your error; you are to blame.

Phrase

tua culpa

  1. (uncommon) Your (singular) fault, due to your error; you are to blame.
    • It seems a long time since Mr. [Paul] Henneberg has vouchsafed the public a flute solo: he was in rare form and it was a grand treat. The masterly manner in which the virtuoso deals with the most intricate execution and the expression that he develops is always a signal for an outburst of genuine...1894 February 19, “Saturday’s Entertainments. Musical Matinee at the Manitoba [Hotel]—[Charles] Frohmann’s^([sic]) Company at the Bijou.”, in Molyneux St. John, editor, Manitoba Morning Free Press...
    • We did not attend the Bazaar and Supper, Saturday, dared not. Understood we stood-in, not well, but for a thrashing. But still it was a success and netted a nice sum for the Aid.—Why? Well, we took the item via phone and got our wires crossed. Mea culpa, tua culpa, or what means the same.1914 December 17, “To the Public”, in F[orester] D. Joslyn, editor, Logan County News, volume XI, number 8, Winona, Kan., →OCLC, page [3], column 4

Noun

tua culpa (plural tua culpas)

  1. (uncommon) An instance of blaming someone else.
    • Here, in the desperate plight of so many of our brethren, lies a heavy charge against us. Here there is more than enough reason for our humble ‘mea culpa’ but also for a ‘tua culpa’ addressed to those outside the Church who, as socialists, claim to have, or ought to have, a sense of social...1952 September 19, Hugo Rahner, quotee, “‘Without God, Freedom Is Only A Word’”, in The Catholic Times, volume 1, number 51, Columbus, Oh.: The Catholic Times, Inc., →OCLC, page 2, column 6
    • And what distinguishes [Stefan] Kanfer's recounting of the last blacklist is its note of intelligent compassion. Kanfer is more interested in the people than politics, in delineating human beings than in location party lines. And unlike so many accounts of the blacklist that I have read, his is not...1973 September 23, Josh Greenfeld, “Blacklisters, Blacklistees Down Memory Lane”, in Los Angeles Times (Book Review section), Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page...

Examples of tua culpa in a sentence

  • “I do not like the flute,” remarked a lady, “the physical effort is too palpable.” “Tua culpa, madam, don’t look at the performer.”1894 February 19, “Saturday’s Entertainments. Musical Matinee at the Manitoba [Hotel]—[Charles] Frohmann’s^([sic]) Company at the Bijou.”...
  • In our busy life, we do not stop to question is it mea culpa or tua culpa, but just start as I am doing now.1927 November 3, Richard Dewey, “Letter to Dr. C[olonel] B[ell] Burr”, in Selected Papers, Chicago, Ill., published 1943, →OCLC, page 20:
  • Shattered another idol! / Busted another dream! / Culpa, tua culpa: / Such is my dismal theme. // Thou, C.1939 January 7, Ray Dieden, “Alas, Clay Feet!”, in Chicago Daily Tribune […], volume XCVIII, number 6, Chicago, Ill., →ISSN, page 8, column...
  • Placards are lifted, marches organized, buildings occupied, police tantalized, and fingers pointed “Tua Culpa, Tua Culpa” (“Your fault, your fault”).1970 March 7, Fulton J[ohn] Sheen, “Protest Key to Freedom? Need Now for Responsibility, Character”, in Courier-Post, Home edition, volume...

Forms of tua culpa

pluraltua culpas

Origin of tua culpa

Learned borrowing from the Latin phrase tuā culpā (“through your (singular) fault”), ablative case of tua culpa (“your fault, guilt”), used in English by analogy with mea culpa; also compare nostra culpa.

Questions about tua culpa

What does tua culpa mean?
Tua culpa means your (singular) fault, due to your error; you are to blame.
How do you use tua culpa in a sentence?
“I do not like the flute,” remarked a lady, “the physical effort is too palpable.” “Tua culpa, madam, don’t look at the performer.”
What part of speech is tua culpa?
Tua culpa can be a phrase or a noun.

Words near tua culpa in the dictionary

  1. tu quoques
  2. Tu Ɂulah Shúh
  3. tu-tou
  4. tu-tous
  5. tu-whit tu-whoo
  6. tua culpa
  7. tua culpas
  8. Tua Pek Kong
  9. tuah
  10. tuaithbel
  11. tuakana

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: tua culpa (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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