deed

See also: dee'd and 'deed

English

Etymology

From Middle English dede, from Old English 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.

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”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /diːd/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːd

Noun

deed (plural deeds)

1. An action or act; something that is done.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Genesis 44:15:

     And Joseph said to them, What deed is this which ye have done?

2. A brave or noteworthy action; a feat or exploit.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Qveene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for VVilliam Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938, book VI, canto VII, stanza 4:

     They should accomplish both a knightly deed,

   • 1668, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, M. DC. LXVI. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], OCLC 1064438096, (please specify the stanza number):

     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. (law) A legal instrument that is executed under seal or before witnesses.

   I inherited the deed to the house.

Synonyms

• (action): act, action; see also Thesaurus:action
• (law): document, certificate, instrument

Derived terms

• deedful
• deedholder
• deedless
• deedly
• deed of assumption
• deed poll
• indeed
• misdeed

Translations

action

• Arabic: عَمَل‎ (ar) m (ʿamal), فِعْل‎ (ar) m (fiʿl)
• Armenian: արարք (hy) (ararkʿ)
• Bashkir: ғәмәл (ğämäl)
• Belarusian: дзе́янне n (dzjéjannje), акт m (akt)
• Bulgarian: де́йствие (bg) n (déjstvie), постъпка (bg) f (postǎpka), акт (bg) m (akt)
• Catalan: fet (ca) m, acte (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 行為 (zh), 行为 (zh) (xíngwéi)

• Czech: skutek (cs) m, čin (cs) m
• Danish: gerning c, handling (da) c
• Dutch: daad (nl) f
• Esperanto: faro (eo), ago
• Ewe: dɔwɔwɔ
• Finnish: teko (fi), toimi (fi)
• French: acte (fr) m, action (fr) f, œuvre (fr) f (theology)
• Galician: feito (gl) m
• German: Tat (de) f, Akt (de) m, Werk (de) n
• Gothic: 𐍄𐌰𐌿𐌹 n (taui), 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍃𐍄𐍅𐌴𐌹 f (waurstwei)
• Greek: πράξη (el) f (práxi)

  Ancient: πρᾶξις f (prâxis)

• Hebrew: מעשה‎ (he) m (ma'ase)
• Hungarian: tett (hu)
• Icelandic: dáð (is) f
• Italian: fatto (it) m, gesto (it), gesta (it)
• Japanese: 行為 (ja) (こうい, kōi)
• Kazakh: қылық (kk) (qılıq)
• Korean: 행위 (ko) (haeng'wi)

• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: کار‎ (ku) (kar), کردەوە‎ (ku) (kirdewe)

  Northern Kurdish: kirin (ku) f, kiryar (ku) f, emel (ku) m, faliyet f

• Latin: āctiō (la) m, āctus (la) m
• Luxembourgish: Dot f
• Macedonian: дело n (delo), постапка f (postapka)
• Norwegian: dåd (no), gjerning
• Persian: کردار‎ (fa) (kerdâr), کار‎ (fa) (kâr), اعمال‎ (fa) pl (a'mâl)
• Plautdietsch: Woakj n
• Portuguese: ação (pt) f, feito (pt) m
• Romanian: faptă (ro)
• Russian: посту́пок (ru) m (postúpok), де́йствие (ru) n (déjstvije), дея́ние (ru) n (dejánije), акт (ru) m (akt)
• Sanskrit: कार्य (sa) n (kārya)
• Scottish Gaelic: gnìomh m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: чи̑н m

  Roman: čȋn (sh) m

• Slovak: skutok m, čin (sk) m
• Slovene: dejanje (sl) n
• Spanish: hecho (es) m, acto (es) m, acción (es) f, obra (es) f
• Swahili: tendo (sw) 5 or 6, jambo (sw) 5 or 6
• Swedish: gärning (sv), dåd (sv)
• Telugu: చర్య (te) (carya)
• Tocharian B: yamalläññe, yāmor
• Turkish: iş (tr), hareket (tr)
• Ukrainian: ді́я (uk) f (díja), ді́яння (uk) n (díjannja), акт (uk) m (akt)
• West Frisian: died n

brave or noteworthy action, feat or exploit

• Arabic: مَأْثُرَة‎ f (maʾṯura)
• Belarusian: по́дзвіг m (pódzvih), вы́чын m (výčyn)
• Bulgarian: по́двиг (bg) m (pódvig)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 功勛 (zh), 功勋 (zh) (gōngxūn)

• Czech: čin (cs) m
• Danish: dåd c, bedrift c
• Finnish: saavutus (fi)

• French: exploit (fr) m, haut fait (fr) m, prouesse (fr) f, coup d'éclat (fr) m, action d'éclat f
• Galician: feito (gl) m
• Italian: prodezza f, impresa (it) f, exploit (it) m, bravura (it) f, ardimento (it) m, gesta (it) f pl
• Macedonian: подвиг m (podvig)
• Maori: rāwekeweke
• Polish: wyczyn (pl) m
• Russian: по́двиг (ru) m (pódvig)
• Slovak: čin (sk) m
• Spanish: hazaña (es) f, proeza (es) f, gesta (es) f, logro (es) m, hito (es) m, hombrada f, machada (es) f
• Ukrainian: по́двиг m (pódvyh)

legal instrument

• Arabic: وَثِيقَة‎ f (waṯīqa)
• Bengali: দস্তাবেজ (dôśtabez)
• Bulgarian: акт (bg) m (akt), докуме́нт (bg) m (dokumént)
• Catalan: escriptura (ca) f, acta (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 契據 (zh), 契据 (zh) (qìjù)

• Danish: skøde n
• Dutch: akte (nl) f
• Finnish: asiakirja (fi)
• French: acte juridique m
• Galician: escritura f, estormento m, título m
• German: Urkunde (de) f
• Greek: συμβόλαιο (el) n (symvólaio), συμβολαιογραφική πράξη f (symvolaiografikí práxi)
• Hebrew: מסמך‎ (he) m (mismákh), חוזה‎ (he) m (khozé)

• Hungarian: oklevél (hu)
• Irish: gníomhas m
• Italian: atto notarile, contratto (it) m
• Macedonian: поседовен лист m (posedoven list), тапија f (tapija), договор m (dogovor)
• Malay: geran
• Maori: tīti
• Plautdietsch: Ieejendeemabewiess m
• Portuguese: ato (pt) m, contrato (pt) m
• Russian: акт (ru) m (akt), докуме́нт (ru) m (dokumént)
• Spanish: acta (es) f, escritura (es) f, título (es) m
• Tagalog: kasulatan
• Telugu: ఒప్పందం (te) (oppandaṁ)
• Turkish: vesika (tr), senet (tr)

Verb

deed (third-person singular simple present deeds, present participle deeding, simple past and past participle deeded)

1. (informal) To transfer real property by deed.

   He deeded over the mineral rights to some fellas from Denver.

Derived terms

• undeeded

Translations

to transfer real property by deed

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Danish: tilskøde

• Finnish: luovuttaa sopimuksella
• Russian: please add this translation if you can

Anagrams

• Dede, dede

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /deːt/

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

deed

1. singular past indicative of doen

Anagrams

• dede

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• ded

Etymology

From Old English dēad, from Proto-West Germanic *daud, from Proto-Germanic *daudaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛːd/

Adjective

deed

1. dead (no longer alive)
   • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎^[1], published c. 1410, Joon 5:21, page 47r, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:

     foꝛ as þe fadir reiſiþ deed men ⁊ quykeneþ .· ſo þe ſone quykeneþ whom he wole

     Just like the father raises the dead and revives them, the son revives who he wants.

2. inert, inactive.
   • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎^[2], published c. 1410, James 2:28, page 110r, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:

     foꝛ as þe bodi wiþout þe ſpirit is deed .· ſo alſo feiþ wiþout werkis is deed

     Just like the body without a soul is dead, faith without works is dead as well.

Related terms

• dedly

Descendants

• English: dead
• Scots: dede, deid, deed
• Yola: deed

References

• “dēd, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

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Scots

Verb

deed

1. past participle of dee
2. (South Scots) past participle of dei

Adverb

deed

1. indeed

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Yola

Etymology

From Middle English deed, from Old English dēad, from Proto-West Germanic *daud.

Adjective

deed

1. dead

References

• Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 33