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executive

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: exécutive

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle French executif, from Latin executivus, from Latin exsequi, from ex- ‘out’ + sequi ‘follow’.

Pronunciation

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  • (UK) IPA(key): /ɪɡˈzɛkjʊtɪv/, /ɛɡˈzɛkjʊtɪv/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ɪɡˈzɛkjətɪv/
    • Audio (US):(file)

Adjective

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executive (comparative more executive, superlative most executive)

  1. Designed or fitted for execution, or carrying into effect.
  2. Of, pertaining to, or having responsibility for the day-to-day running of an organisation, business, country, etc.
    executive act
    an executive officer
    executive government
    • 1787, Federal Convention of 1787, Constitution of the United States of America‎[1], Article I, Section 2:
      When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.
    • 1901, Herbert Kitchener, Middelberg Proposal‎[2]:
      At the earliest practicable date military administration will cease, and will be replaced by civil administration in the form of Crown Colony Government. There will, therefore, be in the first instance, in each of the new Colonies, a Governor and an Executive Council, composed of the principal officials, with a Legislative Council consisting of a certain number of official members to whom a nominated unofficial element will be added.
    • 2001, Penuel Maduna, Constitution Sixth Amendment Act of 2001‎[3], long title:
      [...] to make provision for municipal borrowing powers and to enable a Municipal Council to bind itself and a future Council in the exercise of its legislative and executive authority to secure loans or investments for the municipality; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
  3. Exclusive.
    She works in an office with an executive bathroom.

Translations

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Noun

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executive (plural executives)

  1. A chief officer or administrator, especially one who can make significant decisions on their own authority.
    • 1886, Lysander Spooner, A Letter to Grover Cleveland, on His False Inaugural Address, The Usurpations and Crimes of Lawmakers and Judges, and the Consequent Poverty, Ignorance, and Servitude of the People‎[4], section XXVII:
      Such, Mr. Cleveland, is the real character of the government, of which you are the nominal head. Such are, and have been, its lawmakers. Such are, and have been, its judges. Such have been its executives. Such is its present executive. Have you anything to say for any of them?
    • 1957, United States House Committee on Government Operations, Executive orders and proclamations: a study of a use of Presidential powers‎[5], Part 1:
      But as we approach the question of presidential power, we half overcome mental hazards by recognizing them. The opinions of judges, no less than executives and publicists, often suffer the infirmity of confusing the issue of a power's validity with the cause it is invoked to promote, of confounding the permanent executive office with its temporary occupant.
    • 2024 April 6, Cade Metz, Cecilia Kang, Sheera Frenkel, Stuart A. Thompson, Nico Grant, “How Tech Giants Cut Corners to Harvest Data for A.I.”, in The New York Times‎[6], →ISSN, archived from the original on 7 April 2024:
      In May, Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, acknowledged that A.I. companies would use up all viable data on the internet. […] Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, had invested in A.I. for years — but suddenly found himself behind when OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022. He immediately pushed to match and exceed ChatGPT, calling executives and engineers at all hours of the night to push them to develop a rival chatbot, said three current and former employees, who were not authorized to discuss confidential conversations.
  2. The branch of government that is responsible for enforcing laws and judicial decisions, and for the day-to-day administration of the state.
    • 1787, Federal Convention of 1787, Constitution of the United States of America‎[7], Article I, Section 3:
      The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.
  3. (computing) A process that coordinates and governs the action of other processes or threads; supervisor.
    • 1973, ACM Special Interest Group in Operating Systems, Fourth Symposium on Operating System Principles
      The second phase of the executive development proceeded through two steps as stated in Section 2. First, a failsoft executive was developed providing automatic failure detection and recovery […]

Translations

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Derived terms

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