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Just a friendly FYI: "electrocuted" implies a fatality. (I learned this similarly on an internet forum I posted the word to years ago.)
by orblivion 12y ago
Just a friendly FYI: "electrocuted" implies a fatality. (I learned this similarly on an internet forum I posted the word to years ago.)
- logfromblammo 12y agoLesser severity of unintentional contact with a live conductor could be described as "shocked" (or "electroshocked" if there is potential ambiguity with the emotional state) or "electrotetanized", with the latter reserved for currents strong enough to cause complete muscle seizure (as occurs with a stun gun, for instance). "Electrocution" is a portmanteau of "electrical execution", which not only implies that the person died, but that it was intentional and sanctioned. Lack of a better word has expanded usage to any death caused by electrical current.
- cbr 12y agoReally? https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Aelectrocute https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Aelectrocute injure or kill someone by electric shock
- syncsynchalt 12y agoIt's a portmanteau of electric + execution. It's been misused so often that the non-fatal meaning is becoming a separate line item in the definition, but the parent comment is correct.
- cbr 12y agoBy that argument "electrocution" for "accidental death by electric shock" is also misuse, as the initial definition was "execution via electricity".
- orblivion 12y agoI doublechecked with a google search before posting, I missed that one. Thanks for the re-correction, though I wonder what Google's source is. MW for one does not cite injury: http://www.merriam-webster.com/concise/electrocution http://www.merriam-webster.com/concise/electrocution