ELECTROCUTION

Electrocution

Electrocution is death caused by electric shock, either accidental or deliberate. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death. The term "electrocution," coined about the time of the first use of the electric chair in 1890, originally referred only to electrical execution, and not to accidental or suicidal electrical deaths. However, since no English word was available for non-judicial deaths due to electric shock, the word "electrocution" eventually took over as a description of all circumstances of electrical death from the new commercial electricity. The first recorded ...

The above text is a snippet from Wikipedia: Electrocution
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

electrocution

Noun

  1. The accidental death or suicide by electric shock.
  2. Deliberate execution by electric shock, usually involving an electric chair.
  3. A severe electric shock, whether fatal or not.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: electrocution
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

Need help with a clue?
Try your search in the crossword dictionary!