difference between act and deed

Question

I've been searching the internet, but have not quite found a satisfactory explanation between an act and a deed.

Both seem to have kind of a meaning of something done, though through my google and etymology searching the only apparent difference I can find is that "act" slightly hints at something more in the process of being done. (although not necessarily)

Surely there should be more of a difference between the two words. If they mean the same thing surely there would be no need anymore for two words and I also know act and deed can not always be interchanged in sentences, but what is the difference exactly then?

I'm left utterly confused, hope someone can help me and explain the difference...

Answer 1

Surely there should be more of a difference between the two words. If they mean the same thing surely there would be no need anymore for two words

There are a lot of near synonyms in English, so this does not follow at all. It's particularly so when you consider that act entered the English language in the late Middle English period, from French, while deed was in the language from the very beginnings of Old English. Many, but not all, seeming redundancies in English vocabulary have a similar origin story.

It is true that there are differences in nuances. The primary one would be that an act would generally be need to be relatively remarkable before we would use the term deed. One can do a particularly brave or noble or dastardly or evil deed, but one can't really do a lazy or everyday or common deed. There's nothing technically wrong with the latter, but it wouldn't be an idiomatic use.

There are similarly some differences in what verbs and prepositions are used with either. One doesn't do an act, one cannot be in the deed of anything.

Answer 2

Both words have other meanings as nouns, not related to one another. e.g.Act of Parliament, Deed of Conveyance.

Moreover 'act' can be used as a verb, whilst 'deed' cannot. (At least not in this sense. Legally I think you can 'deed' property to someone'.)

The ODE (not OED) suggests a 'deed' is something you do intentionally, whereas it is possible to commit an involuntary 'act'. And as Jon Hanna points out they attract different verbs and pronouns.

Answer 3

Although I understand it is not common to respond to your own question, I deemed it appropriate to still post the following as such, as I did some extra research after I read the other responses. I did this in an attempt to further distinguish the two words.

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As i reconstruct the meaning of both words with the help of the etymological dictionary it seems to me that an act historically seems to be slightly more associated with movement and a deed has an historical origin of putting something down, especially in the sense of laying something down/making a mark in history. In that sense it's also logical that it is a very much used word in the juridical sphere as a form of written contract (already in this sense in 14th century). Moreover it helps explain why doing a menial task as doing the laundry may not be seen as a deed, but declaring war on a different country can surely be seen as a deed (as that can be construed as a new contract/breaking of old contract).

act  (Proto Indo-European root is *ag- "to drive, draw out or forth, move")
deed (Proto Indo-European root is *dhetis, from *dhe- "place, put")
(etymonline.com)

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wasnt able to post the next part as a comment, so posting here. A few questions which I hope some other native English speaker can answer to further distinguish the two words.

1 Would the following examples pass as correct/incorrect english?

• The act of lying down
• The act of standing still
• The act of thinking
• The act of jousting

(Personally I believe all four are acceptable english, though one might argue that the first three might technically be erroneous.)

2 Would the following examples pass as correct/incorrect english?

• killing a man is an evil deed
• walking away from the murder scene, he knew he had committed an evil deed
• Van Gogh cutting his ear off can be seen as a unusual deed.

(No clue if this is acceptable/erroneous English, i would guess acceptable)

3 as i understand it correctly the following sentences are not deemed correct English and the word deed should be replaced by act in the following sentences

• Brutus committed the deed of killing Julius Caesar (historically somewhat inaccurate i know)
• the deed of killing Julius Caesar

Answer 4

When you describe something as an act, you are distinguishing it from other, more immanent concepts like a plan, a motive, an intention.

When you describe something as an deed, you are distinguishing it from act, because of its notability, permanence, or difficulty.

Turn on a light is an act. You actually did it, which is different than just wishing the light were on or asking something else to turn it on for you, but it isn't significant.

Climbing Everest is a deed; assassinating an archduke is a deed. An insignificant deed is not really a deed at all.

Answer 5

Let's break it down to action and reaction. An action requires thought, "think before you act", so if you think before you act then it's a "deed" and the end result has the potential of being positive or negative, a reaction is impulsive, "just jump in with both feet".

However an action has the potential of being positive or negative as well...so the long and the short of it is that "deeds" are meditated and "actions" are impulsive...so i always strife for all my deeds and actions have a positive result and allow that to define me

Answer 6

Perhaps it is relational. An act is framed only as one-sided or from a single subjective viewpoint (and objectively referenced as singular).

A deed is framed as the dynamic or the affect of one to another. A deed references the same act but from an objective or mutually agreed subjective viewpoint.

The act of charity is only from one point of reference. A deed of charity reflects the exchange and the mutual or shared impact between subjectives.