this post was submitted on 30 Nov 2025
9 points (73.7% liked)

Ask Lemmy

35736 readers
1356 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Like, in real life, execute doesn't mean to start, it means to stop...

top 18 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] DomeGuy@lemmy.world 20 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/execute

"Execute" primarily means "carry out", not "kill". The latter definition is an adaption from the person designated to carry out the act of killing people for violating the law, which presumably at one point was done directly by the hereditary executive.

[–] over_clox@lemmy.world 4 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

So, if there was any actual consistency to the English language, giving birth would mean the same as executing a new person..?

[–] WhatGodIsMadeOf@feddit.org 4 points 1 hour ago

It used to be both definitions before modern morals and medical practices.

[–] paequ2@lemmy.today 11 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

execute doesn’t mean to start, it means to stop…

No?

First Known Use 14th century, in the meaning "to carry (something) out fully : to put (something) completely into effect"

[–] over_clox@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Interesting, thanks for the info and link.

So the next time I meet a woman that recently gave birth, I can confidently congratulate her for executing a new human!

[–] snooggums@piefed.world 1 points 11 minutes ago

Executing the birthing process, not executing the new human.

Like how you stir batter, not pancakes.

[–] AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world 7 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

The original usage was to carry out (a command). In that original sense it was the sentence, rather than the prisoner, who was executed; but the meaning got transferred over time.

[–] kbal@fedia.io 7 points 1 hour ago

In earlier days of computing people first became accustomed to computers "executing" the "instructions" they'd been programmed with. By the time anything resembling today's software executables came along that was the established word for the thing computers did.

[–] CapnClenchJaw@lemmy.world 6 points 1 hour ago

The first definition of 'execute' on Merrium Webster is this:

To put into effect; carry out.

Which seems very in keeping with running a software command.

[–] lemmie689@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 1 hour ago

Got to consider context. Whatever you do, do not look up the definition of "set", or "run".

[–] 6nk06@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Wiktionary

  1. (transitivecomputing) To start, launch or run

[–] over_clox@lemmy.world 0 points 1 hour ago (2 children)

So to execute a program is to start as execute a human is to...? 🤔

[–] spittingimage@lemmy.world 2 points 40 minutes ago

Is to carry out a death sentence.

[–] nocturne@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 hour ago

collapsed inline media

Transitive verb

  1. To put into effect; carry out.
  2. To perform; do: synonym: perform.
[–] A_A@lemmy.world 1 points 47 minutes ago (1 children)

You have to understand the impact of euphemism, hypocrisy and modesty to language.

Example : at one point it was seen as obscene to talk about copulation, coit and fornication. So, for the houses where the king approved fornication, they simply created a modest acronym F.U.C.K. (short for : Fornication Under King's Consent) that later became itself seen as (of course) obscene.
Similarly at one point, long ago in history, it was seen as rude to tell a guard// servant// soldier to kill someone else and the euphemism chosen at the time was to say "execute" meaning "carry on" without saying what was to be carried on.
This word "execution" is being increasingly seen with that later "capital punishment" meaning ... this might be telling something of our preoccupations and/or obsessions.

[–] spittingimage@lemmy.world 4 points 41 minutes ago (1 children)

Example : at one point it was seen as obscene to talk about copulation, coit and fornication. So, for the houses where the king approved fornication, they simply created a modest acronym F.U.C.K. (short for : Fornication Under King’s Consent) that later became itself seen as (of course) obscene.

I believe that theory has been debunked and 'fuck' is from low German, meaning 'to strike'.

[–] A_A@lemmy.world 2 points 36 minutes ago

Maybe you are right about the origin of fuck. Yet, I do believe language tend to be modified over time in the way I (tried to) described above.