4 ms·

Really? 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 ago
  It'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 ago
    By that argument "electrocution" for "accidental death by electric shock" is also misuse, as the initial definition was "execution via electricity".
• orblivion 12y ago
  I 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