Compurgator

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Someone who vouches for another person's innocence, trustworthiness etc.; A character witness in canon law who swore an oath that the accused was innocent. historical

    "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."

  2. 2
    Someone who vouches for another person's innocence, trustworthiness etc.; An ‘oath-helper’ in Anglo-Saxon or Germanic law who testified to the character of an accused person. historical

Synonyms

All synonyms
bystandereyewitnessinformantinformerpasserbyspectator

Example

More examples

"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."

Etymology

From Medieval Latin compurgator or Middle French compurgateur, from Latin compurgō (“to purify”).

Related phrases

canon lawcharacter witness

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.