executive, a. and n.
(ɛkˈsɛkjʊtɪv, ɛgˈz-)
[ad. L. type *ex(s)ecūtīv-us, f. ex(s)ecūt- ppl. stem of exsequī: see execute v. and -ive. Cf. F. exécutif.]
A. adj.
† 1. a. Capable of performance; operative. Obs.
| 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iii. xvii. 148 They [some Laws] enjoyned perpetuall chastity; for [Hermaphrodites] being executive in both parts, male and female, and confined by some Laws unto one, they restrained a naturall power. |
¶ b. That executes sentence of death. (Stressed ˈexecutive.) Obs. rare—1.
| 1773 J. Ross Fratricide (MS.) i. 268 First whirl'd aloft the executive blade. |
2. † a. Active in execution, energetic (obs. rare). b. Apt or skilful in execution. (Chiefly U.S.)
| 1708 Penn in Pa. Hist. Soc. Mem. X. 291 Rouse up, and be vigorous and executive. 1825 New Monthly Mag. XIV. 178 He is tolerably executive in converting his wishes into acts. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. II. iii. lix. 412 The Americans are, to use their favourite expression, a highly executive people. |
3. a. Pertaining to execution; having the function of executing or carrying into practical effect.
| 1677 Hale Prim. Orig. Man i. i. 29 They are the..strongest Instruments, fittest to be executive of the commands of the Soul. 1685 R. Baxter Paraphr. N.T. 2 Tim. i. 7 The three great faculties of the Soul, the Executive Faculty..the Will..and the Intellect. 1691 Norris Pract. Disc. 19 The Ship indeed has good Sails, there is nothing wanting to the Executive part. 1753 N. Torriano Gangr. Sore Throat 105 The Method of Treatment is always founded on the general Indications, but the executive Part is subordinated to Circumstances. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Executive branch, the commissioned and working officers of the ship, as distinguished from the civilian branch. 1875 Hamerton Intell. Life iv. ii. 149 A most experienced artist, a man of the very rarest executive ability. 1879 Lubbock Addr. Pol. & Educ. iii. 47 Two executive Commissions were subsequently constituted. |
b. esp. as the distinctive epithet of that branch of the government which is concerned or charged with carrying out the laws, decrees, and judicial sentences; opposed to ‘judicial’ and ‘legislative’.
| 1649 Selden Laws Eng. i. xvi. (1739) 29 The executive power of the Law rested much in the Nobility. 1689 Locke Govt. ii. xii, The legislative and executive power come often to be separated. 1742 Hume Ess. vi. Indep. Parl., The executive power in every government is altogether subordinate to the legislative. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. 288 This their first executive officer is to be a machine. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 469 The executive government could undertake nothing great without the support of the Commons. 1863 Cox Instit. iii. iii. 631 The king has absolute power to retain executive ministers against the declared wish of the nation. |
c. executive privilege (U.S.), the privilege claimed by the President for the executive branch of the U.S. government to withhold information if it is deemed to be in the public interest to do so.
| 1940 Federal Rep. (2nd. Ser.) CXVII. 277/2 We have previously held a communication, released generally to the press, within this executive privilege. 1964 J. R. Wiggins Freedom or Secrecy (rev. ed.) xi. 228 Subordinate executive personnel invoked executive privilege as authority for withholding information from Congress on forty-four separate occasions. 1974 Black Panther 9 Feb. 13/3 As the time of impeachment approaches, additional claims of executive privilege can be expected. 1987 Washington Post 6 Mar. a3/5 The Justice Department, citing executive privilege, refused to give Congress internal epa documents on the ‘Superfund’ cleanup program. |
4. Of or pertaining to the Executive (see B. 1). executive session, U.S. (see quot. 1888).
| 1811 J. Quincy Speech 30 Jan. (1874) 235 Those..desirous of places in the executive gift. 1837 H. Martineau Soc. Amer. II. 289 The fear and complaint are..of the increase of executive patronage. 1865 Lincoln Message to Congress 6 Jan., If the people should..make it an Executive duty to re-enslave such persons. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. II. ii. xl. 97 A State Senate..has..the power of confirming or rejecting appointments to office made by the governor. When it considers these it is said to ‘go into executive Session’. |
B. n.
1. a. That branch of the government which is charged with the execution of the laws.
| 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. Wks. V. 99 A Council..holds a sort of middle place between the supreme power exercised by the people..and the mere executive. 1847 Mrs. A. Kerr Hist. Servia 298 This force constituted a sort of armed executive. 1866 Bright Sp. Irel. 30 Oct., By the forbearance and permission of the Irish executive. |
| fig. 1842 Mrs. Browning Grk. Chr. Poets (1863) 146 The drama is the executive of literature. |
b. The person or persons in whom the supreme executive magistracy of a country or state is vested. Chiefly U.S., applied to the President (also called chief executive), and to the governors of states.
| 1787 Resolution 1 June in Jrnl. Fed. Conv. (1819) 89 Resolved, That a national executive to consist of a single person be instituted. 1787 Randolph in Bancroft Hist. U.S. (1885) VI. 213 A national executive chosen by the national legislature and ineligible a second time. 1811 J. Quincy Speech 30 Jan. (1874) 242 It may be admitted that all executives for the time being are virtuous. 1855 A. Barnes Way Salvation xi. 138 It might contribute much..to dispose an executive to pardon an offender if he was satisfied that he was truly penitent. 1876 Garfield Sp. Policy Pacif. in Kirke Life 30/2 Our great military chieftain [Grant]..had command as chief executive during eight years of..eventful administration. 1876 Bancroft Hist. U.S. VI. 294 The executive was henceforward [from 6 Aug. 1787] known as the ‘President’. 1891 Nation (N.Y.) 5 Nov. 345/1 A Governor who had shown himself one of the best executives the State has ever had. |
2. transf. Any administrative body.
| 1868 Peard Water-farm. ix. 100 Sixteen shillings per week to each water-keeper, would..secure a grateful, and honest executive. 1884 Sir J. Bacon in Law Rep. 26 Chanc. Div. 133 Directors, who were to form the executive of the association. |
3. A person holding an executive position in a business organization; a person skilled in executive or administrative work; a business man. Also attrib. orig. U.S.
| 1902 G. H. Lorimer Lett. Merchant 22 They will never climb over the railing that separates the clerks from the executives. 1927 Huntington & Whitney Builders Amer. 15 All over the United States business men deplore the scarcity of good executives. 1930 B. Colby Close of Wilson's Admin. 17 Decisions were..reached..with a rapid ease that marked the born executive. 1930 Monotype Recorder Special No. Mar.–Apr. 5 Chosen as the chief executive of one of our most important industries. 1936 J. B. Priestley They Walk in City i. 6 Mr. Welkinghurst, who knew his business, spotted it at once. So did all the executives, of course. 1951 M. McLuhan Mech. Bride 35/1 Do you have a personality? Our executive clinic will get rid of it for you. 1958 Spectator 7 Feb. 173/1 The type of men who used to go into union politics..are now becoming technicians, administrators and executives. 1958 Manch. Guardian 20 Mar. 10/3 In New York..over two thousand business banquets were held last year, involving three to four million executive man-hours. 1959 Times Lit. Suppl. 6 Feb. 74/3 He is away from the sophisticated anxieties of his executive suite, and back in Aunt Mabel's brown-stone house on 62nd Street. 1962 Guardian 5 Oct. 15/2 The comforts of executive-class prosperity. 1968 ‘R. Simons’ Death on Display xv. 77 Most of the cars parked in the driveways were large, new and expensive, and it was the kind of area that estate agents describe gladly as ‘executive class’. 1971 Times 8 Jan. 8/2 An executive toy can mean—and has meant—anything from worry beads to a laughing box. |
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▸ executive decision n. an (esp. important or far-reaching) decision made and implemented by a person or body with executive power; (also in weakened or ironic use) esp. a decision regarded as domineering or unilateral, or relatively trivial.
| [1845 Amer. Rev. Dec. 551/1 The Senate, as part of the treaty-making power, is, for the second time in this matter, to be ousted of its exclusive prerogative, and Congress must determine whether or not they will sustain the Executive decision, and stand by all the consequences.] 1891 Polit. Sci. Q. 6 249 Mr. E. J. Phelps, late minister to England, was the first to recognize the importance of making accessible these *executive decisions. 1961 Jrnl. Health & Human Behavior 2 14/1 Although the members of the clinical research department do not make executive decisions in the realm of marketing, sales and advertising, they are called upon to advise these departments concerned with the business promotion of drugs. 1989 Scene on TV (Brisbane) 2 Apr. 9/1 Jason Donovan has to make an executive decision in Neighbours this week. Will he stick to his Gold Logie 1988 winner or will he be charmed by the Cheezels commercial girl? 1997 A. Wood EastEnders (BBC TV script) Episode 561. 41 Roy. I felt so stupid. He assumed I knew all about it. Barry. He was slacking Dad. Costing us money... I made an executive decision alright? What's the big deal? |
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▸ executive toy n. a decorative desk accessory, esp. a mechanical gadget, with no function but to amuse, relax, or divert; (in extended use, often depreciative) a typically expensive item (esp. of business equipment) regarded as desirable and somewhat prestigious, but with questionable practical application or value.
| 1971 Times 8 Jan. 8/2 An *executive toy can mean—and has meant—anything from worry beads to a laughing box. 1981 Electronics 10 Mar. 80/1 It has been hailed as the ultimate executive toy, but at around $7,900 the Zilog Z80-based system has to earn its keep. 1990 J. Eberts & T. Ilott My Indecision is Final xxxv. 346 There is no macho leather or mahogany, and there are no executive toys. 1999 Daily Tel. 9 Sept. 14/2 Sub-notebooks—extremely thin or shrunken versions of the notebook, portable but often more of an executive toy than a useful tool. |