Electrocution vs. Shock

Posted on Apr 6, 2007 in Misc. | 5 comments

During a recent safety training at Quadrant Homes, I was told that three people had been electrocuted on job sites last year. My jaw dropped and I stared at the safety manager, who seemed unconcerned. “Electrocuted?” I asked, in shock (sorry for the pun). “Yeah,” he replied, confused at my tone. I asked, “Do you mean ‘shocked’ or ‘electrocuted’? Electrocuted means killed by electric shock,” I explained further when he didn’t reply.

It’s one of those commonly-confused words in English. Among its companions are continually vs. continuosly, lie vs. lay, and toward vs. towards. Some people are linguistic relativists and don’t mind when an incorrect usage becomes a de facto definition through common usage. I fall midway on the continuum between linguistic relativism and absolutism, but I’m not budging on this electrocution vs. shock debate. My father-in-law, an electrician, told me in no uncertain terms what the difference was: since I was trying to woo his daughter (and he’s a very big man), I engraved that distinction in my grey matter.

But, should you not believe me, check out some web references: Wikipedia and dictionary.com.