Meanings
- archaicrareuncountableexecution by electricity
[…] there is a want of harmony between electrothanasia, as it takes place, and the humane ideal of death by electricity as it seems to have been pictured in the minds of the promotors of the new law.
1889, The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, page 2651 more example
Electrothanasia is the new word which is proposed as a substitute for the bungling word “electrocution,” which does not express what it is used for, while the word suggested in place of it, though of Greek origin, expresses exactly what we mean when death is produced by electric action. At the same time it is a very ancient word for modern people to use, and it is an open question whether it will be generally acceptable, should execution by electricity be commonly adopted.
1890 September 28, “Electrocution or Electrothanasia.”, in American Druggists' Circular and Chemical Gazette, page 214
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
electro- + Ancient Greek θάνατος (thánatos, “death”), perhaps modeled after euthanasia.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
electrothanasia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/electrothanasia
“electrothanasia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/electrothanasia. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “electrothanasia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/electrothanasia.
Source: electrothanasia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.