Hangman
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary · Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
An executioner
The name usually given to a man employed by the sheriff to put a man to death, according to law, in pursuance of a judgment of a competent court and lawful warrant. HANGWITE (from Saxon hangian, to hang, and wite, fine). Fine, in Saxon law, for illegal hanging of a thief, or for allowing him to escape. Immunity from such fine. Du Cange.