Definition

Noun: - Electric chair: A chair equipped with electrical devices, used for execution or torture. This is a specific type of execution device where a person is strapped to a chair and electrocuted.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Tên tội phạm bị kết án tử hình trên ghế điện. (The criminal was sentenced to death in the electric chair.)
  • Ghế điện là một phương thức hành quyết gây nhiều tranh cãi. (The electric chair is a highly controversial method of execution.)

Advanced Usage

• This term is almost exclusively used in legal, historical, or penal contexts. It is a fixed compound noun; its meaning is specific and does not change.

Variants and Related Words

• Ghế: (Noun) Chair. The general word for a seat with a back.
• Điện: (Noun) Electricity. The general term for electric power.
• Tử hình: (Noun/Verb) Death penalty / to execute. The legal context in which "ghế điện" is used.
• Hình phạt tử hình: (Noun Phrase) Capital punishment.

Synonyms

• Phương tiện hành quyết bằng điện: (Noun Phrase) Means of execution by electricity. This is a descriptive synonym, not a common single term.

Notes on Meaning

• The term "ghế điện" refers specifically to the device used for capital punishment. It is not used to describe any other type of electrically powered chair (e.g., a massage chair or electric wheelchair). For those, different terms are used in Vietnamese (e.g., "ghế massage", "xe lăn điện").
• The reference to "tra tấn" (torture) in some definitions highlights its historical or extrajudicial use, though its primary modern association is with judicial execution.

noun

1. electric chair