exsecutio

Forms

exsecūtiō f (genitive exsecūtiōnis); third declension^[1] It is also spelled ⟨execūtiō⟩,^[2][3] and the TLL finds ⟨exe-⟩ very often in the manuscripts.^[4]

Etymology

It is from Latin exsequor (“to follow out, carry out”) + -tiō.^[2][1][5] De Vaan lists ⟨exsequī⟩ among the compounds of sequor (“to follow”), which goes back to Proto-Italic *sekʷ-e/o- (“to follow”) and Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ-e/o- (“to follow, accompany”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL records it from the elder Seneca's Controversiae on,^[4] where every question is said to have had its proposition and its development, suam propositionem … suam exsecutionem.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Lewis and Short call it post-Augustan.^[3] Its main sense is the carrying out or performance of something: Seneca speaks of the performance of duties, officiorum exsecutio, Pliny the Elder of carrying out a work begun, and Frontinus of the enforcement of a law.^[2][3][7] Tacitus uses it of the administration of a province, when Syria is entrusted to Gaius Cestius and the troops to Corbulo.^[2][8]

In the language of the jurists it was legal action taken to obtain satisfaction for a wrong, a prosecution: Ulpian has exsecutio of certain offences.^[2][3][7] Ecclesiastical Latin kept the senses of performance, management and prosecution,^[9] and medieval Latin used it for judicial prosecution and for the office of the executor of a will.^[10] British medieval writers from Bede on use it for the performance of a task or the carrying out of a command.^[11] Through Anglo-French it gave English execution.^[12]

Timeline

• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca writes of the performance of duties.^[2][13]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of the administration of Syria.^[2][13]
• before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it of legal action for a wrong.^[2][13]
• 1st third of the 8th century AD – Bede uses it of the performance of good works.^[11][13]
• late 14th century – English takes execution from Anglo-French and Old French.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. The carrying out, performance of something; the enforcement of a law.^[2][3]
2. The administration of a province.^[2][8]
3. The development or discussion of a subject.^[2][7]
4. (law) Legal action to obtain satisfaction for a wrong, prosecution.^[2][3]
5. (Medieval Latin) The office of executor of a will.^[10]

Related words

• exsequor
• English execution

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
10. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
11. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
13. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de