Why are they called 'feats'?

[Bohandas]

I mean, the industry standard seems to be Talent

I don't think I've come across that one. I'm more familiar with the Perks from Fallout the the Schticks from Toon

[Beleriphon]

My usual definition of "feat" outside of D&D is, "thing of note that someone has done" rather than "distinctive skill or ability". It's always confused me as to why the the set of class-independent character perks are called "feats" and not something like "talents" or "specializations". I was curious if anyone here knows why that term was chosen for the concept/why it has stuck around for multiple editions.

Was there initially an idea of relating it more to in-game actions than the level-up process (e.g., if the characters defeat a dragon, they get the "dragon-slayer" feat)?

The original intent was that the name really was Heroic Feats. They were going to be learned abilities to make the character Extra Heroic! Things rolled around 3E actually came out and they were just feats. Think feats of strength, so something that in theory anybody could do with practice.

PF does too ("Talents" are the psionic form of Cantrips/Orisons there) but I'd probably tweak those to be something else too in order to free up the word - "Impulses" maybe, or "Notions."

Out of curiosity, how are Saga Talents different than Feats?

Hard linked to specific Talent Trees that only some classes have access to. For example the Lightsaber Combat talents are all locked under classes, both base and prestige, that use them. Jedi Knight for example. The Armour talent tree is limited to the Soldier and a few prestige classes.

Generally speaking Feats in SAGA are things that work like they do in D&D. Talents tend to let you do new things, often with skills (re-rolls when you don't get one for example) or are extremely narrow abilities such as being able to deflect and eventually reflect blaster bolts with a lightsaber.

[Psyren]

I don't think I've come across that one. I'm more familiar with the Perks from Fallout the the Schticks from Toon

I dislike "perk" for these because the term it comes from, "perquisites", refer to external bonuses that come from a profession or employer, rather than techniques a character can learn or develop internally. "Perks of the job" etc.

[AntiAuthority]

If I had to guess... Probably has its roots in the sense that D&D tried to represent mythological and fantasy characters that were known for their amazing feats of skill/power. And the character arguably have incredible feats of skill/power if they're fighting against inhumanly powerful beings and winning.

Though I suppose if you look at D&D as a tale, then your character being able to cleave a person in half or create magic items would be classified as a feat out-of-universe.

[Morty]

Considering the quality of feats in core 3.0 D&D, calling them "heroic" in any capacity has some pretty thick layers of irony to it.

[paladinn]

If I had my druthers, "feats" would be mostly limited to martial characters, or to give martial ability to non-martials (at the cost of sacrificing.. something.. an ASI or some such). They would also be quite limited compared to what developed.

In such a case, I think the word "tactic" would fit better than "feat".

[Jay R]

It's jargon. It means "this set of abilities, that operate by this set of rules, as distinct from any other set of abilities under any other rules in any other game".

You define jargon within a given context, to have a precise word for a concept you never needed a word for before.

"Work" in English means a generic type of doing stuff. In physics it carries the specific meaning of measure of energy transfer, specifically in the form of force times distance.

"Channel" originally meant a pathway for water. In the context of broadcasting, it means a specific wavelength using for sending a meaningful signal.

"Risk" in many contexts means things that can go wrong. In economics, it's defined to be standard deviation.

Similarly, "Feat" is defined jargon in D&D, and what it means in other contexts simply doesn't matter.