Punishment of an offender; retribution deemed appropriate for a crime; esp. capital punishment, execution. Also: †an instance of this, a punishment…

The infliction of punishment in pursuance of a judicial sentence; an instance of this. (In legal use… spec. The infliction of capital punishment…

The headsman's axe used to decapitate condemned traitors. Hence figurative execution.

The action of justifying a person; the result of this. spec. Condemnation; execution. Scottish. Obsolete.