"that which is done, acted, or performed, whether good or bad, great or small," Old English dæd "a doing, act, action; transaction, event," from Proto-Germanic *dethi- (source also of Old Saxon dad, Old Norse dað, Old Frisian dede, Middle Dutch daet, Dutch daad, Old High German tat, German Tat "deed, thing done," Gothic gadeþs "a putting, placing"), from PIE *dheti- "thing laid down or done; law; deed" (source also of Lithuanian dėtis "load, burden," Greek thesis "a placing, setting"), suffixed form of root *dhe- "to set, place, put" (compare do).

In law, "written document authenticated by seal of the person whose will it declares, especially for the purpose of conveying real estate" is from early 14c. As a verb, "convey or transfer by deed," 1806, American English. Related: Deeded; deeding.

c. 1600, a contraction into one word of the prepositional phrase in dede "in fact, in truth, in reality" (early 14c.), from Old English dæd "a doing, act, action, event" (see deed (n.)). As an interjection, 1590s; as an expression of surprise or disgust, 1834. Emphatic form yes (or no) indeedy attested from 1856, American English.

Old English misdæd (West Saxon), misded (Anglian, Kentish) "a wicked action, evil deed, sin," a common Germanic compound (compare Old Saxon misdad, Old Frisian misdede, Middle Dutch misdaet, Old High German mistat, German Missetat, Gothic missadeþs); see mis- (1) "bad, wrong" + deed (n.). The oldest surviving English noun in mis- (1).

*dhē-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to set, put."

It forms all or part of: abdomen; abscond; affair; affect (v.1) "make a mental impression on;" affect (v.2) "make a pretense of;" affection; amplify; anathema; antithesis; apothecary; artifact; artifice; beatific; benefice; beneficence; beneficial; benefit; bibliothec; bodega; boutique; certify; chafe; chauffeur; comfit; condiment; confection; confetti; counterfeit; deed; deem; deface; defeasance; defeat; defect; deficient; difficulty; dignify; discomfit; do (v.); doom; -dom; duma; edifice; edify; efface; effect; efficacious; efficient; epithet; facade; face; facet; facial; -facient; facile; facilitate; facsimile; fact; faction (n.1) "political party;" -faction; factitious; factitive; factor; factory; factotum; faculty; fashion; feasible; feat; feature; feckless; fetish; -fic; fordo; forfeit; -fy; gratify; hacienda; hypothecate; hypothesis; incondite; indeed; infect; justify; malefactor; malfeasance; manufacture; metathesis; misfeasance; modify; mollify; multifarious; notify; nullify; office; officinal; omnifarious; orifice; parenthesis; perfect; petrify; pluperfect; pontifex; prefect; prima facie; proficient; profit; prosthesis; prothesis; purdah; putrefy; qualify; rarefy; recondite; rectify; refectory; sacrifice; salmagundi; samadhi; satisfy; sconce; suffice; sufficient; surface; surfeit; synthesis; tay; ticking (n.); theco-; thematic; theme; thesis; verify.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit dadhati "puts, places;" Avestan dadaiti "he puts;" Old Persian ada "he made;" Hittite dai- "to place;" Greek tithenai "to put, set, place;" Latin facere "to make, do; perform; bring about;" Lithuanian dėti "to put;" Polish dziać się "to be happening;" Russian delat' "to do;" Old High German tuon, German tun, Old English don "to do."

"to cut, trim, remove the top of," early 14c., pollen, "to cut short the hair" (of an animal or person), from poll (n.). Of trees or plants from mid-15c. (implied in polled), Related: Polling. A deed poll "deed executed by one party only," is from the earlier verbal meaning "cut the hair of," because the deed was cut straight rather than indented (compare indenture (n.)). 

late 14c., benefet, "good or noble deed; helpful or friendly action," also "a beneficial thing; advantage, profit," from Anglo-French benfet (Old French bienfait), from Latin benefactum "good deed," from bene facere, from bene "well" (see bene-) + facere "to do" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put"). The meaning "public performance or entertainment to raise money for some deserving unfortunate person or charitable cause" is from 1680s.

"of or pertaining to a deed or legal instrument," 1722, from instrument (n.) in the legal sense.

Latin, literally "in fact, in reality," thus, "existing, but not necessarily legally ordained or morally right;" from facto, ablative of factum "deed, act" (see de +  fact).

Latin, literally "after the fact," from post "behind, after, afterward" + factum "deed, act" (see post- + fact).

1590s, "an openly offensive word or deed," from affront (v.) or from French affront (n.), from the verb in French.