Deed
Deed (dēd) , adjective
Dead. [Obsolete] — Chaucer
Deed , noun
[Anglo-Saxon dad; akin to Old Saxon dād, Dutch & Danish daad, German that, Swedish dåd, Gothic dēds; from the root of do. See Do, transitive verb]
1.
That which is done or effected by a responsible agent; an act; an action; a thing done; -- a word of extensive application, including, whatever is done, good or bad, great or small.
And Joseph said to them, What deed is this which ye have done?
We receive the due reward of our deeds.
Would serve his kind in deed and word.
2.
Illustrious act; achievement; exploit.
Knightly deeds.
Whose deeds some nobler poem shall adorn.
3.
Power of action; agency; efficiency. [Obsolete]
To be, both will and deed, created free.
4.
Fact; reality; -- whence we have indeed.
5.
(Law) A sealed instrument in writing, on paper or parchment, duly executed and delivered, containing some transfer, bargain, or contract.
The term is generally applied to conveyances of real estate, and it is the prevailing doctrine that a deed must be signed as well as sealed, though at common law signing was formerly not necessary.
Collocations (2)
Blank deed , a printed form containing the customary legal phraseology, with blank spaces for writing in names, dates, boundaries, etc.
In deed , in fact; in truth; verily. See Indeed.
6.
Performance; -- followed by of. [Obsolete] — Shakespeare
Deed , transitive verb
To convey or transfer by deed; as, he deeded all his estate to his eldest son. [Colloquial United States]