deed

noun
/diːd/

Etymology

From Middle English dede, from Old English dēd, dǣd (“deed, act”), from Proto-West Germanic *dādi, from Proto-Germanic *dēdiz (“deed”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁tis (“deed, action”). Analyzable through Proto-Germanic as do + -th. Doublet of thesis. The real estate sense derives from the fact that property deeds are traditionally used to demonstrate proof of ownership of a legal title in common law jurisdictions, such as England & Wales and most of the United States. Cognates Cognate with West Frisian died, Dutch daad (“deed, act”), German Low German Daad, German Tat (“deed, action”), Swedish, Norwegian and Danish dåd (“act, action”). The Proto-Indo-European root is also the source of Ancient Greek θέσις (thésis, “setting, arrangement”).

  1. inherited from *dʰéh₁tis — “deed, action
  2. inherited from *dēdiz — “deed
  3. inherited from *dādi
  4. inherited from dēd
  5. inherited from dede

Definitions

  1. An action or act

    An action or act; something that is done.

    • One small deed can have one strong effect or more.
    • And Joseph said to them, What deed is this which ye have done?
  2. A brave or noteworthy action

    A brave or noteworthy action; a feat or exploit.

    • They should accomplish both a knightly deed,
    • whose deeds some nobler poem shall adorn
  3. Action or fact, as opposed to rhetoric or deliberation.

    • I have fulfilled my promise in word and in deed.
  4. + 3 more definitions
    1. A legal instrument that is executed under seal or before a witness

      A legal instrument that is executed under seal or before a witness; sometimes required for certain legal activities, such as the transfer of certain kinds of property.

    2. To transfer real property by deed.

      • He deeded over the mineral rights to some fellas from Denver.
    3. A surname.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at deed. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01deed02feat03rare04low05ground06opposed07acting

A definitional loop anchored at deed. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

7 hops · closes at deed

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA