Main Entry: ex·e·cu·tion

Pronunciation: \ˌek-si-ˈkyü-shən\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English execucion, from Anglo-French, from Latin exsecution-, exsecutio, from exsequi to execute, from ex- + sequi to follow — more at sue

Date: 14th century

1 : the act or process of executing : performance
2 : a putting to death especially as a legal penalty
3 : the process of enforcing a legal judgment (as against a debtor); also : a judicial writ directing such enforcement
4 : the act or mode or result of performance
5 archaic : effective or destructive action <his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution — Shakespeare> —usually used with do <as soon as day came, we went out to see what execution we had done — Daniel Defoe>