To cause death with electricity. Often confused with shock. It's improper to say, "I got electrocuted touching that plug," because, if you had been actually electrocuted, you couldn't tell the story.
For the full story on various aspects of electrocution, see IEC Standard 479-1 "Effects of Current on Livestock and Human Beings". Note that much of the research was done in Europe during the period 1939-1945.
A past master on the marketing of electrocution was none other than Thomas Alva Edison. During the Edison/Westinghouse fight over the electrification of the US with either DC (Edison) or AC (Westinghouse/Tesla), Edison got New York State to declare AC power as the official method of execution. This was part of an effort to explain to the public that DC was nice and safe, while AC was nasty and dangerous. Edison also found it useful to make his point by electrocuting dogs during his talks on the subject, and in one case electrocuting an elephant which had been sentenced to death by the state.
See also these threads at Guitarists Who Were Electrocuted While Playing and GuitarNuts.com - Shock Hazards.
For the full story on various aspects of electrocution, see IEC Standard 479-1 "Effects of Current on Livestock and Human Beings". Note that much of the research was done in Europe during the period 1939-1945.
A past master on the marketing of electrocution was none other than Thomas Alva Edison. During the Edison/Westinghouse fight over the electrification of the US with either DC (Edison) or AC (Westinghouse/Tesla), Edison got New York State to declare AC power as the official method of execution. This was part of an effort to explain to the public that DC was nice and safe, while AC was nasty and dangerous. Edison also found it useful to make his point by electrocuting dogs during his talks on the subject, and in one case electrocuting an elephant which had been sentenced to death by the state.
See also these threads at Guitarists Who Were Electrocuted While Playing and GuitarNuts.com - Shock Hazards.