death chair
- noun
- NSFW
:
silla eléctrica
- The history of the death chair reveals its controversial use in carrying out capital punishment.
Examples
-
The condemned prisoner was strapped into the death chair as part of the execution process.
-
At the beginning of the movie, Bell talks about the situation where the young man willingly went to the death chair because of a desire to kill.
Blog text (20) -
In the documentary, they explained how the death chair was designed to resemble a typical seating arrangement.
Synonyms
73
9.9
A seat used to kill a person with electricity
47
5.3
A chair used to put a person to death by sending electricity through their body
A chair that kills a person by electricity
How Deadly
- NSFW
1
2.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a chair used as an instrument of execution' is directly derivable from combining 'death' (end of life) with 'chair' (a seat), forming a noun–noun compound that denotes a chair associated with death. This is a straightforward compositional pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the intended sense.
Etymology
The noun death chair names a plain chair fitted with straps and electrical wires used to kill a person by electric shock. Because people who sat in that chair were put to death, the name became a simple way to talk about that execution device and the idea of 'to die' by electricity.