HP? Do they really mean health?

Alright so I am feeling like rustling some jimmies so let me throw this question out there I want to see how people respond to it.

What are "Hit Points" excatly?

To those who don't know in most games your character has a set amount of health that may or may not be increased over time, but in RPGs should someone wielding a sword the size of your character not just flat out kill your character by just hitting them with it? In FPSs shouldn't a character die if they are shot repeadly with a shotgun at close range? This just seems completely wrong to me especially if the games are set in modern or near modern time.

Hit points are a mechanic used in games so that the player feels like they can make some mistakes or are used to keep track of the remaining damage a player can take. Video games are all numbers and hit points are just more of them. To answer your questions about whether in RPGs you should just die if you get hit by a giant sword or if you get shotgunned in the face, the answer is no.

You're playing a video game. You need to suspend some level of reality to enjoy it.

Its fictional, just like how anime/manga characters survive crazy acts of violence, so do vg characters.

The more real life accuracy and realism a game has graphically and mechanically is kind of irrelevant to whether the game itself is actually an enjoyable experience. The belief that it does matter comes from the idea of a gaming teleology whereby the perfect mimesis of reality in a digital space equates the pinnacle of the medium. But what actually makes an appealing game are mechanics that draw the player in and keep them engaged. I do agree a quicker death set up actually makes things more interesting in certain genres but that's more because it can raise the stakes and adds tension, not because it makes things more realistic (Dark souls etc.)