this post was submitted on 11 May 2024
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I'm generally a linguistic descriptivist, but in the case of "electrocuted", I do think the distinction is worth having.
I think there's a distinction between "electrocuted" and "electrocuted to death". Same as with "stabbed" vs. "stabbed to death" or any other such verb that can, but may not necessarily result in death.
[Edit- I'm blind, the definition I give below does include injury. However, I stand by the fact the word has changed over time, and there is at least some value in following the "old" definition.]
Per Merriam-Webster:
1: to kill or severely injure by electric shock
2: to execute (a criminal) by electricity
Now, granted, because the word is used often enough to mean "shocked", there is a "descriptivist" argument to be made that we should accept the new definition (like "literally" meaning "not literally").
While I'm generally in favour of this approach, I think the distinction here being literally life-and-death (especially when used in a workplace context) warrants some push-back against this new definition.
That said, English doesn't have language police, so you're more than free to disagree with my take, haha.
The definition does include mere injury. Though it does add the qualifier "severely" so now I need to know how that dictionary defines "severe."
Also: The Internet has proven for years that the Language Police exist for all languages. Though they're more like gestapo. Hence the moniker "Grammar Nazi." 😌
I'm a big fan of words being used wrong so often that they change meaning. Glad my education was largely useless.