The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Deed \Deed\ (d[=e]d), a.
   Dead. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
   [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Deed \Deed\, n. [AS. d[=ae]d; akin to OS. d[=a]d, D. & Dan.
   daad, G. that, Sw. d[*a]d, Goth. d[=e]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.
      [1913 Webster]

            And Joseph said to them, What deed is this which ye
            have done?                            --Gen. xliv.
                                                  15.
      [1913 Webster]

            We receive the due reward of our deeds. --Luke
                                                  xxiii. 41.
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            Would serve his kind in deed and word. --Tennyson.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Illustrious act; achievement; exploit. "Knightly deeds."
      --Spenser.
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            Whose deeds some nobler poem shall adorn. --Dryden.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Power of action; agency; efficiency. [Obs.]
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            To be, both will and deed, created free. --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. Fact; reality; -- whence we have indeed.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. (Law) A sealed instrument in writing, on paper or
      parchment, duly executed and delivered, containing some
      transfer, bargain, or contract.
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   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.
         [1913 Webster]

   Blank deed, a printed form containing the customary legal
      phraseology, with blank spaces for writing in names,
      dates, boundaries, etc.
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   6. Performance; -- followed by of. [Obs.] --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   In deed, in fact; in truth; verily. See Indeed.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Deed \Deed\, v. t.
   To convey or transfer by deed; as, he deeded all his estate
   to his eldest son. [Colloq. U. S.]
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

deed
    n 1: a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect
         a transfer of property and to show the legal right to
         possess it; "he signed the deed"; "he kept the title to his
         car in the glove compartment" [syn: deed, deed of
         conveyance, title]
    2: something that people do or cause to happen [syn: act,
       deed, human action, human activity]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

125 Moby Thesaurus words for "deed":
   abalienate, accomplished fact, accomplishment, achievement, act,
   acta, action, adventure, agreement, alien, alienate, amortize,
   aristeia, arrangement, assign, bargain, barter, bequeath, blow,
   bold stroke, bond, cause, cede, charter, compact, confer, consign,
   contract, contract by deed, contract of record, contract quasi,
   convey, conveyance, coup, covenant, covenant of indemnity, crusade,
   dealings, debenture, debenture bond, deed of trust, deed over,
   deed poll, deliver, demise, devolve upon, document, doing, doings,
   effort, endeavor, enfeoff, enterprise, exchange, exploit,
   fait accompli, feat, formal contract, gaining, gest, give,
   give title to, go, group policy, hand, hand down, hand on,
   hand over, handiwork, heroic act, implied contract, indent,
   indenture, instrument, insurance policy, job, make over, maneuver,
   measure, mortgage deed, move, negotiate, operation, overt act,
   pact, parol contract, pass, pass on, pass over, passage,
   performance, policy, proceeding, production, promissory note,
   quest, recognizance, remise, res gestae, sell, settle, settle on,
   sign away, sign over, special contract, specialty,
   specialty contract, step, stroke, stunt, surrender, thing,
   thing done, title deed, tour de force, trade, transaction,
   transfer, transmit, turn, turn over, undertaking, winning, work,
   works



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

DEED, conveyancing, contracts. A writing or instrument, under seal,
containing some contract or agreement, and which has been delivered by the
parties. Co. Litt. 171; 2 Bl. Com. 295; Shep. Touch. 50. This applies to all
instruments in writing, under seal, whether they relate to the conveyance of
lands, or to any other matter; a bond, a single bill, an agreement in
writing, or any other contract whatever, when reduced to writing, which
writing is sealed and delivered, is as much a deed as any conveyance of
land. 2 Serg. & Rawle, 504; 1 Mood. Cr, Cas. 57; 5 Dana, 365; 1 How. Miss.
R. 154; 1 McMullan, 373. Signing is not necessary at common law to make a
deed. 2 Ev. Poth. 165; 11 Co. Rep. 278 6 S. & R. 311.
     2. Deed, in its more confined sense, signifies a writing, by which
lands, tenements, and hereditaments are conveyed, which writing is sealed
and delivered by the parties.
     3. The formal parts of a deed for the conveyance of land are, 1st. The
premises, which contains all that precedes the habendum, namely, the date,
the names and descriptions of the parties, the recitals, the consideration,
the receipt of the same, the grant, the full description of the thing
granted, and the exceptions, if any.
     4.-2d. The habendum, which states that estate or interest is granted
by the deed this is sometimes, done in the premises.
     5.-3d. The tenendum. This was formerly used to express the tenure by
which the estate granted was to be held; but now that all freehold tenures
have been converted into socage, the tenendum is of no use and it is
therefore joined to the habendum, under the formula to have and to hold.
     6th. The redendum is that part of the deed by which the grantor
reserves something to himself, out of the thing granted, as a rent, under
the following formula, Yielding and paying.
     7.-5th. The conditions upon which the grant is made. Vide Conditions.
     8.-6th. The warranty, is that part by which the grantor warrants the
title to the grantee. This is general when the warrant is against all
persons, or special, when it is only against the grantor, his heirs, and
those claiming under him. See Warranty.
     9.-7th. The covenants, if any; these are inserted to oblige the
parties or one of them, to do something beneficial to, or to abstain from
something, which, if done, might be prejudicial to the other.
    10.-8th. The conclusion, which mentions the execution and the date,
either expressly, or by reference to the beginning.
    11. The circumstances necessarily attendant upon a valid deed, are the
following: 1. It must be written or printed on parchment or paper. Litt.
229, a; 2 Bl. Com. 297. 2. There must be sufficient parties. 3. A proper
subject-matter which is the object of the grant. 4. A. sufficient
consideration. 5. An agreement properly set forth. 6. It must be read, if
desired. 7. It must be signed and sealed. 8. It must be delivered. 9. And
attested by witnesses. 10. It should be properly acknowledged before a
competent officer.
    11. It ought to be recorded.
    12. A deed may be avoided, 1. By alterations made in it subsequent to
its execution, when made by the party himself, whether they be material or
immaterial, and by any material alteration, made even by a stranger. Vide
Erasure; Interlineation.
     2. By the disagreement of those parties whose concurrence is necessary;
for instance, in the case of a married woman by the disagreement of her
husband. 3. By the judgment of a competent tribunal.
    13. According to Sir William Blackstone, 2 Com. 313, deeds may be
considered as (1), conveyances at common law, original and derivative. 1st.
The original are, 1. Feoffment. 2. Gift. 3. Grant. 4. Lease. 5. Exchange;
and 6. Partition. 2d. Derivative, which are 7. Release. 8. Confirmation. 9.
Surrender. 10. Assignment 11. Defeasance. (2). Conveyances which derive
their force by virtue of the statute of uses; namely, 12. Covenant to stand
seised to uses. 13. Bargain and sale of lands. 14. Lease and release. 15.
Deed to lead and declare uses. 16. Deed of revocation of uses.
    14. The deed of, bargain and sale, is the most usual in the United
States. Vide Bargain and Sale. Chancellor Kent is of opinion that a deed
would be perfectly competent in any part of the United States, to convey the
fee, if it was to the following effect: "I, A, B, in consideration of one
dollar to me paid, by C D, do bargain and sell, (or in some of the states,
grant) to C D, and his heirs, (in New York, Virginia, and some other states,
the words, and his heirs may be omitted,) the lot of land, (describing it,)
witness my hand and seal," &c. 4 Kent, Com. 452. Vide, generally, Bouv.
Inst. Index, h.t.; Vin. Abr. Fait; Com. Dig. Fait; Shep. Touch. ch. 4;
Dane's Ab. Index, h.t.; 4 Cruise's Dig. passim.
    15. Title deeds are considered as part of the inheritance and pass to
the heir as real estate. A tenant in tail is, therefore, entitled to them;
and chancery will, enable him to get possession of them. 1 Bro. R. 206; 1
Ves. jr. 227;11 Ves. 277; 15 Ves. 173. See Hill. Ab. c. 25; 1 Bibb, R. 333:
3 Mass. 487; 5 Mass. 472.
    16. The cancellation, surrender, or destruction of a deed of conveyance,
will not divest the estate which has passed by force of it. 1 Johns. Ch.
Rep. 417 2 Johns. Rep. 87. As to the effect of a redelivery of a deed, see 2
Bl. Com. 308 2 H. Bl. 263, 264.