entry
feat
/fiːt/rare or difficult accomplishment
From Latin fac (to do).
from Latin factum "thing done," a noun based on the past participle of facere "to make, to do" (from PIE root *dhe- "to...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French fait "action, deed, achievement" (12c.)
+1 more sourcefrom Anglo-French fet
Word Ancestry
from Latin factum "thing done," a noun based on the past participle of facere "to make, to do" (from PIE root *dhe- "to...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French fait "action, deed, achievement" (12c.)
+1 more sourcefrom Anglo-French fet
A feat is basically a deed that has strutted into the spotlight. In medieval French, fait meant a plain old act or accomplishment, nothing glamorous, but by about 1400 it was showing up in phrases like fait d’armes, the kind of battlefield exploit that made people stare. That makes feat a close cousin of fact, which is the same Latin family photo: both come from factum, “something done.” Once you notice that, a feat starts to feel less like magic and more like a deed wearing armor, as if the word itself has marched out of a crusader’s camp and into modern English ready to impress the crowd.
The Story
A feat is basically a deed that has strutted into the spotlight. In medieval French, fait meant a plain old act or accomplishment, nothing glamorous, but by about 1400 it was showing up in phrases like fait d’armes, the kind of battlefield exploit that made people stare. That makes feat a close cousin of fact, which is the same Latin family photo: both come from factum, “something done.” Once you notice that, a feat starts to feel less like magic and more like a deed wearing armor, as if the word itself has marched out of a crusader’s camp and into modern English ready to impress the crowd.
Kin & Kindred
From 'fac'·to do, make
Derived Terms
English words from this root