Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Deed?

\Deed\, a. Dead. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
\Deed\, n. [AS. d?d; akin to OS. d[=a]d, D. & Dan. daad, G. thai, Sw. d[*a]d, Goth. d?ds; fr. the root of do. See {Do}, v. t.] 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? --Gen. xliv. 15. We receive the due reward of our deeds. --Luke xxiii. 41. Would serve his kind in deed and word. --Tennyson. 2. Illustrious act; achievement; exploit. ``Knightly deeds.'' --Spenser. Whose deeds some nobler poem shall adorn. --Dryden. 3. Power of action; agency; efficiency. [Obs.] To be, both will and deed, created free. --Milton. 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. Note: 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. {Blank deed}, a printed form containing the customary legal phraseology, with blank spaces for writing in names, dates, boundaries, etc. 6. Performance; -- followed by of. [Obs.] --Shak. {In deed}, in fact; in truth; verily. See {Indeed}.
\Deed\, v. t. To convey or transfer by deed; as, he deeded all his estate to his eldest son. [Colloq. U. S.]