The company deceived customers by selling old computers as new ones.

deceived 是动词 deceive 的过去式。deceive 由前缀 de-（表示"离开、偏离"）和词根 ceive（来自拉丁语 capere，意为"拿取"）组成，字面意思是"通过欺骗手段拿走"，引申为"欺骗、蒙骗"的意思。