deed English · revision 39720

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Old English, Vespasian Psalter|origins=gem-pro *dēdiz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /diːd/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|dede]], [[inh|ang|dǣd|t=deed, action]] (Anglian [[m|ang|dēd]]),^(AHD 2024)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) [[inh|gem-pro|*dēdiz]].^(Hoad 1986)^(Orel 2003)^(Kroonen 2013) Its cognates are [[ofs|dēde]], [[osx|dād]], [[nl|daad]], [[goh|tāt]] (German [[m|de|Tat]]), [[non|dáð]] and [[got|𐌲𐌰𐌳𐌴𐌸𐍃|tr=gadēþs|t=a putting, placing]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(OED 2026)^(Kroonen 2013) The Germanic noun continues [[ine-pro|*dʰeh₁tis|t=a thing laid down or done]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from the root of [[do]], [[ine-pro|*dʰeh₁-|t=to set, put]];^(Etymonline)^(Orel 2003)^(AHD 2024) Etymonline compares [[lt|dėtis|t=load, burden]] and [[grc|θέσις|tr=thésis|t=a placing]], the source of [[thesis]].^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(Orel 2003)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Something that is done, an act: Old English, in the Vespasian Psalter;^(OED 2026) Barnhart cites ''dæd'' in ''Beowulf'', about 725.^(Barnhart 1995) An act of bravery or skill, a feat, is also in ''Beowulf'',^(OED 2026) and action in general, often contrasted with words, in Ælfric's Grammar.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The legal sense, a written document that carries out a transfer of property or creates an obligation, is recorded from about 1300, in Robert Mannyng's ''Chronicle'',^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and Hoad dates it to the 14th century;^(Hoad 1986) Weekley compares the parallel sense of [[act]].^(Weekley 1921) The phrase ''in deed'', in fact or in truth, from about 1405 in Chaucer, became the adverb [[indeed]],^(OED 2026)^(Weekley 1921) and ''deed'' itself came back as a Scots shortening of ''indeed'' (1816 in Scott).^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) Middle English used ''the Deeds of the Apostles'' for the Acts (c1380–1533).^(OED 2026) The verb, to transfer property by deed, began in American English: Merriam-Webster dates it to 1758, Etymonline to 1806 and the OED to 1816, in John Pickering's ''Vocabulary'' of Americanisms.^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) In East Yorkshire dialect ''deed'' meant a fuss or to-do (1788).^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) gave the senses "action, whether good or bad", "exploit, performance" and "written evidence of any legal act".^(Johnson 1755) ''To do the deed'', to have sex, appears in Marlowe's translation of Ovid before 1593.^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – ''dæd'', an act (Beowulf).^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1300 – (law) a written instrument.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1405 – ''in deed'', in fact (Chaucer).^(OED 2026)

+ * a1593 – ''do the deed'', to have sex.^(GDoS)

+ * 1758 – verb: to convey by deed.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1788 – (dialect) a to-do.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1816 – the Scots adverb ''deed'', indeed; the verb in the OED.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Something done deliberately; an [[act]]: ''a kind deed''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A notable [[achievement]] or [[exploit]]; a [[feat]]: ''tales of the knights' deeds''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Action as opposed to words: ''loyal in word and deed''.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''(law)'' A signed legal [[document]], especially one transferring the ownership of property.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(US, Canada)'' To transfer property by deed.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[deedless]]

+ * [[deedy]]

+ * [[indeed]]

+ * [[misdeed]]

+ * [[redeed]]

+ * [[undeeded]]

+ * [[quitclaim deed]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[do]]

+ * [[doom]]

+ * [[thesis]]

+ * [[theme]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}