vinné

Vinný is an adjective used in Czech and Slovak to mean guilty, at fault, or responsible for a wrongdoing. It is commonly employed in legal and moral contexts to describe a person who bears responsibility for a crime or error. The opposite form is nevinný, meaning innocent. In sentences it agrees with the gender and number of the noun it modifies (for example, masculine vinný, feminine vinná, neuter vinné in singular; the forms change in plural as required by grammar).

Etymology and related forms: Vinný derives from Proto-Slavic roots related to fault or sin, with cognates in other Slavic languages that express guilt or culpability (for example, Russian vina means guilt, and related words appear in Polish and Ukrainian). The word is closely tied to the concept of responsibility and blame, rather than to wine, despite a superficial similarity to the Czech word for wine, víno.

Grammar and usage notes: In Czech and Slovak, vinný is used with the subject whose guilt is being stated, often in passive or predicate constructions. It appears in legal phrases such as a court or judge finding someone vinným (guilty). It also appears in broader statements like “být vinným za něco” (to be at fault for something). The feminine and neuter forms are vinná and vinné, respectively, with agreement in gender and number.

See also: vina (guilt, fault), nevinný (innocent), vinovat (to blame, to accuse), zaviniť (to cause or be responsible for, in some dialects). Note that vinný is distinct from víno, the word for wine, which is etymologically unrelated.