Exe

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A computer file containing machine instructions that can be run directly by an operating system to perform a task
2. A binary or script file formatted to be executed as a standalone program on a computer system
3. A runnable program file that the operating system recognizes and launches to carry out specific functions

Etymology: The word "exe" is a clipping, shortened from "executable," which is the term used for a program file that a computer can run directly. Its first and most famous role is the file extension on Windows systems, where a filename ending in ".exe" marks a file as a runnable program. The shortening follows the usual pattern for computing jargon, where long technical words are trimmed to a few letters for convenience. The same source also records "exe" as a clipping of "executioner," the person who carries out a sentence of death. In that sense it is an older, more informal shortening, and the two clippings share nothing except the same letters. One is a product of modern software, the other a shorter form of a word with a much longer history of use.