n.
Pronunciation: ˌ ek-si- ' kyü-sh ə n
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>