Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Execution \Ex`e*cu"tion\, n. [F. ex['e]cution, L. executio,
   exsecutio.]
   1. The act of executing; a carrying into effect or to
      completion; performance; achievement; consummation; as,
      the execution of a plan, a work, etc.

            The excellence of the subject contributed much to
            the happiness of the execution.       --Dryden.

   2. A putting to death as a legal penalty; death lawfully
      inflicted; as, the execution of a murderer.

            A warrant for his execution.          --Shak.

   3. The act of the mode of performing a work of art, of
      performing on an instrument, of engraving, etc.; as, the
      execution of a statue, painting, or piece of music.

            The first quality of execution is truth. --Ruskin.

   4. (Law)
      (a) The carrying into effect the judgment given in a court
          of law.
      (b) A judicial writ by which an officer is empowered to
          carry a judgment into effect; final process.
      (c) The act of signing, and delivering a legal instrument,
          or giving it the forms required to render it valid;
          as, the execution of a deed, or a will.

   5. That which is executed or accomplished; effect; effective
      work; -- usually with do.

            To do some fatal execution.           --Shak.

   6. The act of sacking a town. [Obs.] --Beau. & FL.

Source : WordNet®

execution
     n 1: putting a condemned person to death [syn: {executing}, {capital
          punishment}, {death penalty}]
     2: the act of performing; of doing something successfully;
        using knowledge as distinguished from merely possessing
        it; "they criticised his performance as mayor";
        "experience generally improves performance" [syn: {performance},
         {carrying out}, {carrying into action}]
     3: (computer science) the process of carrying out an
        instruction by a computer [syn: {instruction execution}]
     4: (law) the completion of a legal instrument (such as a
        contract or deed) by signing it (and perhaps sealing and
        delivering it) so that it becomes legally binding and
        enforceable [syn: {execution of instrument}]
     5: a routine court order that attempts to enforce the judgment
        that has been granted to a plaintiff by authorizing a
        sheriff to carry it out [syn: {writ of execution}]
     6: the act of accomplishing some aim or executing some order;
        "the agency was created for the implementation of the
        policy" [syn: {implementation}, {carrying out}]
     7: unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human
        being [syn: {murder}, {slaying}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

execution
     
         The process of carrying out
        the {instructions} in a computer program by a computer.
     
        See also {dry run}.
     
        (1996-05-13)