noun
hangman
Refers to an executioner who carries out hanging. A formal, somewhat historical term.
絞刑吏が死刑囚に縄をかけた。
The hangman put the rope around the condemned prisoner.
Compound of 絞刑 (こうけい, 'hanging') and 吏 (り, 'official'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning.