deed

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*dʰéh₁tis“deed, action”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*dēdiz“deed”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*dādi
4. Old English · inherited fromdēd
5. Middle English · inherited fromdede
6. English todaydeed

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”).

Words from the same roots