Etymologically
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feat

Etymology and origin of the English word feat

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
before 1376
Borrowed from
Anglo-Norman fet
Ultimate origin
Latin (factum)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fiːt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Anglo-Norman fet, Old French fait, deed, achievement,[2][3][4] from Latin factum (“a thing done”), the noun use of the past participle of facere, to do, make;[2][3][4] fact is its doublet.[2] The spelling with ea is like that of feast.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

An action or deed: before 1376,[2] the mid-14th century in Etymonline; action in general, deeds as opposed to words, 1362 in the OED.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

The sense of an exceptional or noble deed is first recorded probably before 1400,[2][3] often in the phrase feat of arms, after French fait d'armes.[2][3] The neutral sense, any action, has died out,[5] and the word now means a remarkable act of skill, strength or courage.[6][7]

Timeline

  • 1362 – action, deeds.[5]
  • before 1376 – an act, deed.[2]
  • before 1400 – an exceptional deed.[2][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A remarkable act of skill, strength, daring or endurance; an achievement.
  2. A notable act of courage; an exploit.

Word family

  • featly

Usage notes

An adjective feat, adroit or neat, from Middle French fait, made, is archaic.[6][8]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Feat.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/feat. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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