to execute; to grasp, to hold; to keep; to sieze, to detain
Pictograph of a person with hands (丮) bound by shackles (㚔). Based on the original meaning "seize". The meaning later shifted to "wield power", "carry out", and "hold".
《說文》：“執，捕罪人也。从丮，从，亦聲。”
seize