deed

nounverbcommon in dialogue

//diːd//

An action or act; something that is done.

noun

1
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 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
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.
5
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. The legal title to real estate; ownership.
I inherited the deed to the house.

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”).

verb

1
informalTo transfer real property by deed.
He deeded over the mineral rights to some fellas from Denver.

Forms

plural: deeds
past tense: deeded
past participle: deeded
present participle: deeding
third person singular: deeds

deduction · That which is deducted; that which is subtracted or removed.dee · To do.Dee · A river in Aberdeenshire council area, Scotland that flows…

deed · An action or act; something that is done.

Deed · A surname.deemed · An accreditation awarded to higher educational institutions…Deena · A female given name.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.