A person who is hanged; an archaic or rare term for someone sentenced to death by hanging.
From 'hang' plus the suffix '-ee' (one who receives an action), following the pattern of 'employee,' 'devotee,' etc. Rarely used in modern English, appearing in older legal or historical texts.
The suffix '-ee' creates a stark passive voice—'hangee' emphasizes the person as the victim receiving the action of hanging, which is why it appears in serious historical records discussing executions, highlighting the brutal passivity of the condemned.
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