executo

Forms

execūtō (present infinitive execūtāre, perfect active execūtāvī, supine execūtātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is a Medieval Latin verb formed from execūtus, the past participle of exsequor (“to follow out, carry out”).^[1][2] Spellings with ⟨exs-⟩ and ⟨exequ-⟩ are also recorded.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Du Cange cites a charter of 1379 from Nîmes, spelled exequtare, for seizing a person's goods as pledges.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Its general sense was “to carry out, perform”, as in a document of an assembly of bishops at Caspe in Aragon.^[4] In law it meant to distrain: the customs of Toulouse speak of seizing a debtor's goods,^[4] and Polish charters use it for forcing peasants to pay their dues.^[3] A Paris record of 1423 uses it for putting people to death by sentence of justice.^[4][1] Through Old French executer it gave English execute.^[2]

Timeline

• 1379 – A charter from Nîmes uses it for seizing goods as pledges.^[4]
• 1409 – A Polish charter uses it for exacting unpaid dues from peasants.^[3]
• 1423 – A record of the Paris chamber of accounts uses it for executing condemned people.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. (Medieval Latin) To carry out, perform.^[4][1]
2. (Medieval Latin, law) To distrain: to seize goods as pledges, to force payment of a debt.^[4][3]
3. (Medieval Latin) To put to death.^[4][1]

Related words

• English execute

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre