Act

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /ækt/

Definitions

1. A behavior exhibited by someone to express intentions or feelings; A legal directive or statute created by authorities; A division of a play or performance that includes multiple scenes and narratives
2. Something done intentionally or a way a person behaves ; a formal law or decision made by a governing body ; a part of a drama or performance marked by a continuous sequence of events
3. An action taken by an individual or group ; legislation officially enacted by a governing authority ; a subdivision in a play that contains various scenes

Etymology: The English "act" comes from Latin "actum", a neuter past participle of "agere", meaning "to do" or "to drive". In Roman usage, "actum" also meant a decree or a law, something that had been put into effect, which is why the word carries a sense of formal, binding deed. Its plural "acta" meant official records or proceedings, and the modern German "Akte" (file) descends from the same Latin root. English also has a second, older source. Old English "dǣd" meant "act" or "deed", and it partly displaced in English the Latin-derived word for the same idea. So the everyday word for doing something and the word used in formal legal or theatrical contexts share one origin, but the native English word for a deed arrived by a different route.

Synonyms: deed, action, performance, operate, execute

Antonyms: inaction, idleness, refrain