the.com/commutation

means The reduction or substitution of a legal penalty to something less severe, without erasing the underlying conviction — like swapping a death sentence for life in prison.

from From Latin 'commutare' — 'com-' (altogether) plus 'mutare' (to change), the same root that gives us 'mutate' and 'mutual.' The legal sense of swapping one punishment for a lighter one emerged as the word settled into English from French, keeping its core idea of exchange intact — you're not erasing the debt, just trading it for a smaller one.