deed
Plural: deeds
Noun
- a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it
- "he signed the deed"
- something that people do or cause to happen
- An action or act; something that is done.
- A brave or noteworthy action; a feat or exploit.
- Action or fact, as opposed to rhetoric or deliberation.
- 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.
- 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.
Verb
Verb Forms: deeded, deeding, deeds
- To transfer or convey property by legal document.
- To transfer real property by deed.
Examples
- He deeded over the mineral rights to some fellas from Denver.
- He joked that he would deed his victory to his friend if he won the Scrabble tournament.
- I have fulfilled my promise in word and in deed.
- I inherited the deed to the house.
- One small deed can have one stour effect or more.
Origin / 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”).
Scrabble Score: 6
deed: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Worddeed: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
deed: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary