# deed

Pronunciation: say "DEED" /diːd/

## Noun

1. Something that someone carries out or performs; an act or action.
   - Simple: Anything that someone does, big or small.
   - _A single thoughtless deed can undo years of trust._
   - _Her quiet deeds of charity often go unnoticed._
2. A bold or remarkable action; a feat or great accomplishment.
   - Simple: A brave or impressive action that someone does.
   - _The knight's daring deed became the subject of many songs._
   - _History remembers her bold deeds on the battlefield._
3. A formal legal document, executed under seal or before a witness, often required for transactions such as transferring property.
   - Simple: A signed legal paper, often witnessed, that records an agreement or the giving of property.
   - _The deed was executed under seal at the lawyer's office._
   - _Both parties signed the deeds transferring the land._
4. The legal title to real estate, proving ownership of land or buildings.
   - Simple: The official paper that proves you own a house or piece of land.
   - _After the mortgage was paid, the deed passed fully to her._
   - _Disputes over old deeds can delay a property sale for months._
5. Action or actual fact, as contrasted with mere talk or deliberation.
   - Simple: Real action, not just words or talk.
   - _The committee valued action in deed over endless debate._
   - _Her courage was shown in deed rather than in fine speeches._
7. A coy euphemism for the act of having sex, almost always used as "the deed." *(slang)*
   - Simple: A playful, indirect way of referring to having sex.
   - _By the third date, the two of them had done the deed._
   - _He bragged to his friends about doing the deed._

## Verb

6. To transfer ownership of real property to someone by means of a deed. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To give someone ownership of land or property using a legal paper.
   - _She chose to deed the farmhouse to her son before retiring._
   - _The owners deeded the property to a conservation trust._

## Origin

From Middle English dede, from Old English dēd, dǣd ("deed, act"), going back through Proto-Germanic *dēdiz to a Proto-Indo-European root *dʰéh₁tis ("deed, action"). It can be analyzed as "do" plus "-th," and is a doublet of "thesis." It is related to Dutch daad and German Tat, and the real estate sense comes from property deeds being used as proof of legal ownership.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/deed (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).