Etymologically
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executive

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 18:22. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɪɡˈzek.jə.tɪv/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin executivus,[2][3] from exsecūt-, the past participle stem of Latin exsequī (“to follow after; to carry out, accomplish”),[3] the source of execute and execution.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Capable of performance, operative”, now obsolete: 1646 in the OED,[4] the 1640s in Etymonline.[3] The SOED dates the adjective to late Middle English.[2]

Semantic evolution

As the distinctive epithet of the branch of government that carries out the laws it is from 1649,[4][5] and “having the function of carrying into effect” from 1677.[4] The noun, the person or persons holding supreme executive power in a country, is by 1708, perhaps from earlier executive part or executive power.[3] A high-ranking business person is American English by 1902,[3] which led the adjective to mean “stylish, luxurious, costly”, befitting an executive, in the 1970s.[3] Executive privilege for the US president is from 1797 in a general sense,[3] while the OED's first example is from 1940.[4] In computing, an executive is a program that controls other programs.[6]

Timeline

  • 1646 – capable of performance.[4]
  • 1649 – of the branch of government that executes the laws.[4][5]
  • 1677 – having the function of carrying into effect.[4]
  • 1708 – noun, the holder of executive power.[3]
  • 1902 – a business executive.[3]
  • 1970s – adjective, luxurious.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person or group with administrative or managerial authority in an organization.
  2. The branch of government that puts the laws into effect; the chief officer of a government or state.
  3. (computing) A program that controls the running of other programs.

Adjective

  1. Having to do with carrying out plans or laws; managerial.
  2. Of the executive branch of government.
  3. For or befitting executives; luxurious: an executive suite.

Word family

  • executively
  • executiveness
  • CEO
  • nonexecutive
  • chief executive
  • account executive
  • executive privilege
  • chief executive officer
  • execute
  • execution
  • executor
  • sequel
  • consequence
  • exec

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin