3 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Execution \Ex`e*cu"tion\, n. [F. ex['e]cution, L. executio,
exsecutio.]
1. The act of executing; a carrying into effect or to
completion; performance; achievement; consummation; as,
the execution of a plan, a work, etc.
The excellence of the subject contributed much to
the happiness of the execution. --Dryden.
2. A putting to death as a legal penalty; death lawfully
inflicted; as, the execution of a murderer.
A warrant for his execution. --Shak.
3. The act of the mode of performing a work of art, of
performing on an instrument, of engraving, etc.; as, the
execution of a statue, painting, or piece of music.
The first quality of execution is truth. --Ruskin.
4. (Law)
(a) The carrying into effect the judgment given in a court
of law.
(b) A judicial writ by which an officer is empowered to
carry a judgment into effect; final process.
(c) The act of signing, and delivering a legal instrument,
or giving it the forms required to render it valid;
as, the execution of a deed, or a will.
5. That which is executed or accomplished; effect; effective
work; -- usually with do.
To do some fatal execution. --Shak.
6. The act of sacking a town. [Obs.] --Beau. & FL.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
execution
n 1: putting a condemned person to death [syn: {executing}, {capital
punishment}, {death penalty}]
2: the act of performing; of doing something successfully;
using knowledge as distinguished from merely possessing
it; "they criticised his performance as mayor";
"experience generally improves performance" [syn: {performance},
{carrying out}, {carrying into action}]
3: (computer science) the process of carrying out an
instruction by a computer [syn: {instruction execution}]
4: (law) the completion of a legal instrument (such as a
contract or deed) by signing it (and perhaps sealing and
delivering it) so that it becomes legally binding and
enforceable [syn: {execution of instrument}]
5: a routine court order that attempts to enforce the judgment
that has been granted to a plaintiff by authorizing a
sheriff to carry it out [syn: {writ of execution}]
6: the act of accomplishing some aim or executing some order;
"the agency was created for the implementation of the
policy" [syn: {implementation}, {carrying out}]
7: unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human
being [syn: {murder}, {slaying}]
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
execution
<operating system, programming> The process of carrying out
the {instructions} in a computer program by a computer.
See also {dry run}.
(1996-05-13)