abettor

American  

[uh-bet-er] / əˈbɛt ər /

Or abetter

noun

1. a person who abets.

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Etymology

Origin of abettor

From the Anglo-French word abettour, dating back to 1505–15. See abet, -or ²

Explanation

An abettor is someone who helps another person commit a crime. If you drive the getaway car during a bank robbery, you're an abettor. If you assist someone else in doing something wrong, offering any kind of support or encouragement, you abet that person. From this verb comes the noun abettor, which is a good word for a criminal's sidekick, or the guy who holds his friend's extra spray paint while she paints graffiti on the wall of a school. The root of this word is the Old French abeter, "to bait or harass with dogs," literally "to cause to bite."

Example Sentences

Ms. Nevares and other former Nxivm members say the woman known as Prefect was not only Mr. Raniere’s business partner and confidant but his abettor and protector.

From New York Times • Sep. 7, 2021

Anyone who isn’t against this drumbeat of unredressed wrong is exposed as a guilty abettor.

From Washington Post • May 30, 2020

“The aider and abettor is legally responsible for the acts of other persons that are the natural and probable consequences of the crime in which he intentionally participated.”

From Slate • Mar. 5, 2019

In the book, Starr depicts Susan McDougal — who served prison time for her conviction — as a disdainful abettor of the Clintons, a designation that baffles her to this day.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 11, 2018

And now they were passing on to the trial of Boullé, the curate, and supposed abettor of Picart.

From La Sorcière: The Witch of the Middle Ages by Michelet, Jules