Euthanasia is a controversial subject, and the word itself can be considered controversial as some see it as a euphemism hiding the true nature of the action it describes. Several definitions of the word can be found, differentiated according to the approach being taken, whether it is etymological, legal, religious, or philosophical. Society faces a number of issues of life and death, and because of developments in medicine and technology, these issues become more difficult all the time. We can keep people alive when in the past they might have died, but should we?
According to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, there are two definitions for the word "euthanasia." the first is that the word is a synonym for "mercy killing," or "the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, a person or animal suffering from an incurable, esp. a painful, disease or condition." The second is that the term means "painless death."
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) offers a more extensive history of the word based on the same Greek roots. The OED also offers three definitions for the word. The first is that the word means a "gentle and easy death"; the second, the "means of bringing about a gentle and easy death"; and finally, "the action of inducing a gentle and easy death," said to be a recent use of the word. The first of these definitions dates to 1646, the second from 1742, and the more recent from 1869. It is said by the OED to be used especially "with reference to a proposal that the law should sanction the putting painlessly to death of those suffering from incurable and extremely painful disease."
The etymology of the word has already been noted, combining eu and thanatos from the Greek to emphasize the idea of an easy death. The word shifted over time from referring to an easy to death to indicating the act that would bring about an easy death. The word rel...