Executorships

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The role or position of someone tasked with managing the estate of a deceased individual
2. A fiduciary responsibility granted to a person to administer and settle the affairs of a deceased's will
3. Positions held by individuals assigned to oversee and execute the directives outlined in a will or trust

Etymology: "Executorships" is the plural of "executorship," which names the office of an executor, the person a will appoints to carry out its terms and manage a dead person's estate. The office is the root: "executor" comes from Latin "executor," meaning one who carries out or performs, from "exsequi," to follow out or accomplish. The Latin verb also gave English "execute" and "executive," all sharing the sense of seeing something through to completion. The suffix "-ship" is an Old English element meaning state, condition, or office, as in "friendship" or "lordship." Attaching it to "executor" produces a noun for the office itself, and the plural form counts several such positions, as when a family or court has more than one appointment to consider.