deeds
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
In noun sense 1, deed usually sounds more morally colored than act or action. An act can be almost any single thing someone does, and action often stresses practical movement or an official response. Deed is more likely when people are praising kindness or bravery, or condemning cruelty and wrongdoing. Gesture often points to a smaller act that shows a feeling, such as thanks or welcome. Feat highlights unusual skill or courage, not moral value by itself. You might praise a volunteer's kind deed, describe a manager's quick action after a fire, call flowers a thoughtful gesture, or admire a climber's feat on a dangerous wall.
Etymology
Deed comes from Old English daed, a word for something done or carried out. It stayed close to that basic idea in English, then narrowed in some contexts to morally judged acts such as good deeds or evil deeds. Later, legal English also used deed for the formal document that records a transfer of property, which is why the same word can refer either to an action or to ownership papers.
First known use
12th century
12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Verb